Life's Full Of Surprises
by writepassed
Summary: A romance/action story centered around the Kung Fu Masters, Tigress and Po; But that is certainly not all! : WILL CHANGE RATING IF MESSAGED TO DO SO. : There will be some blood imagery, sexual themes, etc. - Rating may change to M at that time.
1. A Change Of Heart

**Life's Full Of Surprises.**

**Please note, future chapters will be written based on reviews! THANK YOU!**

**Also, Kung Fu Panda is owned by Dreamworks, please support the official movies, books, etc.! I DO NOT OWN KUNG FU PANDA!**

**And last, but MOST certainly not least; the following is a revised edition of the story, looked over by none other than Mr. Alaska himself! Please visit and read his work, whereas it is truly phenomenal! :) - Please tell me what you think via a review!**

_And without further ado, the story!_

A drop of sweat fell from his body to her chest, and was almost instantly absorbed by her golden fur. She didn't think she could last much longer. He stood over her in a mist of pride, sweat, and compassion. A manly, cute, and all-in-all arousing image. His large muscular biceps and, compared to his arms, slim body stood tall and prosperous in comparison to her lazed, yet sexy lying technique. It was a chest-to-knees style position, except she was lying upon a table suited perfectly for this purpose. All was in disarray as she searched her thoughts for the exact time this sexual lifestyle set in.

She recalled that it was a regular day at The Jade Palace, when something peculiar seeded in her mind. It could have been the birds' graceful chirping, or the way the sun shun down upon them, watching as it lit a path to the unknown; but deep down, she knew the feelings were there all along. For on this very day, a feeling of long lost desperation re-emerged with a vengeance within her. A feeling long lost in the course of both time and extensive training.

It was odd; she awoke as usual, a slow opening of her eyes to wide-awakeness. A skill acquired naturally from constant early morning training. She then shifted her legs to the side of her bed, already dressed, and jumped to her feet. Ready for another classic day, ready for the same old routine.

Ready…for change.

The first thing she noticed that was out of the usual was the way her fur was ruffled up. Her first thought, 'Just a restless sleep, I guess.' Odd, whereas she normally slept with absolute stillness. She made her way to the kitchen to find Po already eating. She smiled at him, and realized he had already set her place and made her breakfast, along with the other five.

It was a regular thing for him. Although it often went unnoticed whereas she skipped breakfast regularly. But today, she decided she would treat herself to a meal before starting her routine training. Po became noticeably happier as he saw this. He grinned. "Gonna get a little bit of my world-famous crepes before hitting the old gym today, eh? I knew you couldn't resist forever."

Tigress chuckled at his comedic form of speech. "Yes, I thought I'd treat myself to whatever it was you had made," she said as she firmly put her two hands together and bowed slightly. Po was happy to see her back to herself after all of the dramatic events that occurred just the day before….

Primarily, the defeat of Lord Shen.

Suddenly, he realized why the others weren't up. They were still in their rooms, resting from the whole ordeal. Po answered back, "Oh did you? Ohoho! Well I must warn you, these have a little more _kick _than my regular crepes."

Tigress held her smile, "I think I'm ready."

But then Po, with blinding speed and precision, grasped the spatula, and flipped a perfectly-golden crepe into the air, which did a few spirals in mid-flight, before landing onto a plate, followed with a line-up of toppings. Syrup, ice cream, icing sugar, sprinkles, and the list went on. Then he put the plate in front of a very impressed, and mildly excited looking Tigress. Although it was not really her style to allow such expressions to show for something as simple as a meal, she'd found herself incapable of hidding the fact that this was exactly what she was in the mood for.

After rifling her way through the crepe in a matter of seconds, with none of her usual elegance, she peered up to see a jaw-dropped panda. Suddenly, she came back to her senses. She hurriedly grabbed her napkin, wiped off all the excess food from her face, and straightened herself out. But remained silent, at a loss for words for the event that had just transpired. Po suddenly dawned a smug, almost triumphant look, as if he had just discovered a deep secret Tigress never wanted known. He put one hand on his hip and pointed with the other in absolute satisfaction, "Your training is complete, Master Tigress."

Normally, Tigress would've clobbered anyone who'd made fun of her, especially after embarrassing herself the way she did. But, seeing as no one else was around to see it, she laughed once again as she always did at his jokes, and his humourous screw-ups. Following this, she put her hands together as she did before the meal. But similarly, far less elegant than usual, and said, "Thank you for your _wise _teachings, Master Po."

They both laughed, finding the whole situation quite funny. Then, abruptly, Po realized something he hadn't before. Tigress saw the light go on in his head and wondered what it was he was thinking. Po saw her waiting patiently and said, "Tigress, you don't look quite like yourself today. Your fur, it's…"

"Ruffled?" Before Po could finish, Tigress jumped in and finished the sentence for him in a tired tone. "I know. It's odd, isn't it? I must've had an uneasy sleep or something."

There was a pause.

"…. Well, I don't know about you, but I kinda like it," said Po rather timidly. "You should make it a new look or something. Pretty soon, all of the female masters will be copying your image." She grimaced once again, noticing for the first time how happy she felt in the face of Po's positive way of thinking.

She rolled her eyes. "I don't think so, it's not really my kind of thing, a little too unorganized for my taste."

Po answered this easily. "Well anyways, I haven't quite gotten my regular training in yet," he said as he posed slightly, and flexed his biceps. "So I'm gonna skip the shower till a bit later." Tigress looked happy for a moment to take this kind gesture, when her eyes went wide with excitement.

"Hey! Why don't we train together?" she asked enthusiastically. Po looked back at her. He could clearly see her excitement, but didn't quite understand it.

"Well alri..!" he started, when she grabbed him by the arm and effortlessly pulled him to the training room.

They began with a quick warm-up. Jumping jacks for Po, and just about everything else for Tigress. It was clear at first glance who was the more skilled, but what was also previously made clear was the skill Po was capable of when he concentrated fully. Although Po himself didn't quite understand it, Tigress had always seen it deep within him. A flame that burned deeply and insatiably in his heart for the power within Kung Fu. She had almost always admired him for it. The capability of mustering up an unlimited amount of strength, power, and skill to match the situation at hand. It was a skill rarely attained, but only truly recognized when it was most deeply required.

What she didn't know was that what made him reach so deeply…was love.

Not very surprising considering he hardly knew this himself. Po had started by admiring Tigress, but after meeting her and repeatedly failing to impress her at every turn, he felt these feelings grow even stronger. He couldn't define it, but he could surely feel it. He simply wanted what he couldn't have. Little did he know, a new fire had been lit brighter than ever before within Tigress's heart for none other than him. Once again, not a surprise, considering it was something she also hadn't quite realized.

But this _unfamiliar_ pashion was spreading endlessly and aimlessly.

Following the warm-ups, Tigress suggested they spar with one another. Po liked this idea, but knew he didn't stand a chance. But, nevertheless, they moved to the ring and prepared to fight. Tigress stood motionless as Po prepared to attack. He staggered his way in with a series of ballistic stretches, then let out a yelp as he flew in with a swift kick. "AAAHH!"

She stopped this without even batting an eye, and caught his foot with her right hand. She then threw him to the ground. As Po skidded to a stop on the other end of the ring, Tigress took on with a smug grin. "You'll have to try a little harder than that, panda." she said, looking him dead in the eye. After getting back on his feet, he peered back at her with a serious gaze.

"Ah, but you haven't seen anything yet," he yelled, as he moved in with a flurry of moves. She blocked them all, and once again, wasn't putting out much effort in doing so. "You aren't focusing," she replied, "you mustn't allow your opponent to block a single attack." Tigress moved from defense to attack in a matter of microseconds, and brought him down to a pin with nothing more than her right foot ."Or that might happen."

He looked up helplessly as she stepped off, then stumbled back onto his feet. "Wow!" he uttered, "THAT WAS TOTAL HARDCORE AWESOMNESS!" Tigress reluctantly let out a grin while she watched him dance around in amazement. "You were like Ha! Haya!" Po punched and kicked the nearby air, then turned to see a blushing tiger. The look of excitement on his face rapidly faded to embarrassment. She saw this and moved on.

"Again," she said, **un**-playfully.

_Thank you all for reading! Please review! Thank you!_


	2. A Fight To Remember

**Life's Full Of Surprises.**

**Please note, future chapters will be written based on reviews! THANK YOU ALL FOR READING!**

**Also Kung Fu Panda is owned by Dreamworks, please support the official movies, books, etc.! I DO NOT OWN KUNG FU PANDA!**

****And last, but MOST certainly not least; the following is a revised edition of the story, looked over by none other than Mr. Alaska himself! Please visit and read his work, whereas it is truly phenomenal! :)** - Please tell me what you think via a review!******

_And without further ado, the story!_

They stared at and into one another's eyes for a few silent seconds.

She could tell Po was trying to clear his mind and focus, closing his eyes and trying his best to meditate. She let him, whereas this was exactly what she wanted. His attempt at total concentration soon became even more relevant when he allowed himself to let out a small comment. "…. Inner peace…." Tigress continued to stare, but tensed up slightly; he opened one eye in time to see this, but continued regardless. "Inner peace.. Inner peace... Inner p..!"

Po interrupted himself by shouting "HIYA!" and springing back to life to move in for a surprise attack. Tigress couldn't deny it. For his size, he was quick. But his speed was nothing in comparison to her own. She leapt into the air and grasped the supports of the training room, all too quickly for the panda to realize.

When Po came to recognize that Tigress had disappeared, he gazed around the room, but saw nothing. "Tigress..." he said in an interrogative tone…. When without warning, a faint noise was heard behind him. He spun around quickly, and dropped in to attack position, only to see the training dummy staring and rocking back and forth. "Oh, so we meet again," he said playfully, as he un-tensed and stood erectly, when just as abruptly, Tigress moved from behind the dummy, into an all-out attack.

Surprisingly, Po was all too ready for such a move.

She lead with her right fist as Po blocked with his left, he spun rapidly in a taunting fashion, landing slightly off center. She felt the rage combust deeply within her, the burn that pushed her onward in almost every battle she could recollect. She felt it envelop her and continued faster, and stronger than before in a flurry of moves. Po's expression reflected his confusion as a response to her intensity. She acknowledged how firmly she was pushing, but she wanted to reveal the true Po. She wanted to see just how much it took to uncover the warrior within him. And yet, no matter how firmly she pushed, he was perfectly capable of blocking every push, every shove, every kick, and every punch, without even attempting to summon the instinctive beast lurking inside of himself.

She felt that the only way to bring out the beast she so desperately wanted to see was to dig a little bit deeper, and gather a little more power to release into the battle. She spun into a backward flip, and caught Po with an uppercut from her left foot. He was knocked onto his back, but sprung quickly back to his feet before she'd even managed to hit the ground. It was clear that his conscience was far clearer now than during the battle with Lord Shen. Tigress grinned, "Grrrrr," she growled as she flew in horizontally, with her palms together in front of her. Po dove clumsily sideways as she hit the weapon rack behind him. Unintentionally shattering it, as she jumped from the wall, back into the ring with a wooden staff in her right hand.

It was as if they had come to an exhausted restart. They stood opposite of one another, breathlessly, as Po smiled without control. She could tell he thought she'd actually been trying as hard as she led on. Abruptly, she stopped gasping for air. "You actually thought I was really trying, didn't you?" she called out with assertiveness. He looked back and suddenly became quite weary. He returned to his normal self, as the tiger continued to stare back, unfulfilled. He held up his right index finger, as his other hand met his knee, and he bent over, completely discharged. Tigress broke free of her trance-like state, and looked down at Po with concern.

"Are you okay?"

"Hh? Yeah, I…umm, I just need…ah…a second to regain my…uh…my breath." she smiled slightly, and decided to tell him all she'd observed from the fight while he was still too tired to speak.

"You've improved." she said. "In fact, you've improved more drastically in far less time than any other student of Master Shifu's I've ever met." she paused for a second to think about what next to say. "It's clear to me now that you've been chosen as Dragon Warrior for a reason." After this comment, she threw the wooden staff to the side, and knelt, resting her right elbow on her right knee, and her left fist on the ground, as she lowered her head, in honour of the Master before her. After this occurred, Po raised himself back to his normal posture.

He smiled in reception of her compliments, and stared downward at her as she knelt. "Thanks a lot Tigress." he replied, bowing respectively.

"I only speak the truth." Tigress answered, wiping the small amount of sweat that was accumulating on her forehead.

"No Tigress…. You've done so much more than that." Tigress, finding what Po had just said confusing, glanced up at him with a curious look on her face. "Well," Po continued, "I was starting to wonder if I really deserved to be called The Dragon Warrior…. Especially since all of those mistakes I made fighting Lord Shen.." There was another pause between the two.

"How do you mean?" asked Tigress, still not fully understanding Po's statement.

"Well, you know," Po answered, sounding embarrassed to be speaking of such things, "I haven't exactly fought like the others, or you. And…. Well, I'm not sure how to get this out there.. I guess what I mean is, I'm not really the picture of a hardcore Kung Fu warrior like you and the five…."

She stared at him for a few seconds than replied as best she could. "No, no you're not Po. You're far more than that. You're a warrior unlike any of us." Now it was Po's turn to look confused. "I mean, look at yourself. You're the last of the panda race, a non-violent race, and one of the most awaited warriors of all time. And you're just beginning. Imagine your skills after a month, a year, or even a decade of training." The honoured look on Tigress' face was now replaced with one of care. "Don't worry Po, you've already well proven yourself to all of us. You are, and always will be, The Dragon Warrior."

She smiled at him like never before. And it was during this look of sincerity, that Po felt something he hadn't earlier.. He didn't quite know why, but he knew he had to go.

_Thank you all for reading! Please review! Thank you!_


	3. The Epiphany

**Life's Full Of Surprises.**

**Please note, future chapters will be written based on reviews! THANK YOU ALL FOR READING!**

**Also Kung Fu Panda is owned by Dreamworks, please support the official movies, books, etc.! I DO NOT OWN KUNG FU PANDA!**

**And last, but MOST certainly not least; the following is a revised edition of the story, looked over by none other than Mr. Alaska himself! Please visit and read his work, whereas it is truly phenomenal! :)** - Please tell me what you think via a review!****

_And without further ado, the story!_

He lost himself in her crisp yellow eyes for only a second, but felt hours, or even days rush past. Then he spoke. "Tigress…. I…uh, I think I have to go now..." Tigress continued to stare back with a slight look of anxiety, then said, "Uhmm," for as she was, without a doubt, rendered aghast.

He aided by interrupting her process of thought, "I know," he said reassuringly. "Actually, I don't know…. All I know is that I have to leave." He then got up, and, in an implausible fashion, sprinted back to the palace.

She watched him run, and felt an unbelievable temptation to try to stop him, but she couldn't. She'd experienced some sort of an invisible force that she was physically and mentally incapable of overcoming; So she fell to her knees, and allowed herself to flow back naturally as she descended into a seated position. She lifted both paws and stared into them, as lost in thought as she was in persona.

She wondered what she had said, what she could do, and a million and one other things in a single instant. They flashed through her worrisome mind like lightning, and all came back unanswered. Then, she stopped herself to concentrate on a single inquiry. "Why does this all matter so much to me?" But this question simply snowballed into a million others. Another first for her; she was troubled. She dropped her paws, and lifted herself to her feet. She then walked unhurriedly back to the palace.

As she walked outside at a tremendously slow pace, she continued to think.

A few seconds after she stepped outdoors, it began to rain. She was confused, but relieved to have finally told Po what she'd seen all along. Yet, she still felt as if she'd told him almost nothing. She resumed her course of comprehension to look over the events that occurred over the past few hours, when a belief blossomed itself in her mind. One that was not long seeded, but long foreseen.

'Could I have allowed myself to fall in love?' she apprehended to herself 'No.' she thought instinctively. _The mighty Tigress could not afford to be bound to such petty things_, her head told her. But her heart believed otherwise. And to her dismay, the thought she'd invoked was persistent, and pounded her mind as though it were a bell. And each time, it rang. It rang louder and louder until she could deny it no more….

She was in love with Po.

This epiphany freed her sub-conscience as a commotion of weight crashed upon her, and she fell to her hands and knees. She looked into the puddle that had formed at her feet. She could see herself clearly, but it was not herself that she saw. It was a new Tigress. One she had never seen before. There was a crimson hue in her cheeks, and a glimmer in her eyes.

For the first time in her own existence, her chi was almost perfectly in balance.

She smiled into her reflection, and felt a feeling of warmth overcome her. Then suddenly, as she felt the strength of ten lift her to her feet, she felt the power she'd lusted over her entire life. The power she'd often seen in Po, when times were desperate. And yet, none of this mattered to her. All she'd ever thought she'd wanted meant absolutely nothing. Simply, because she now realized, all she'd ever actually wanted, was Po.

She then lost herself in an ecstasy of happiness as her vision reddened and blurred. The palace, although half a mile away, only took her seconds to reach. And at this moment, she returned back to herself, still at peace, but without the power she'd just uncovered. She could hear Viper speaking to the others in a serious tone. It started as a mumble, but as she approached the door, it clarified.

"…. I can't believe Tigress would ever have said anything to make Po so upset!" Tigress gasped quietly, "…. I mean really. Po has never been anything but nice to her. He does everything he can, and more. Especially for her. As strange as it sounds, I think for some reason Po might have a little crush on her." the others mumbled things amongst themselves. "I mean, haven't you guys realized that he always goes out of his way for her? Like, every morning, he gets up, and makes us all breakfast. And even knowing Tigress won't be there, he sets her a place and makes her breakfast as well."

The rest of the group agreed with Viper and spoke of other things he did for her. Tigress could hardly believe what she was hearing. She felt appeased but disturbed all at once. She lost hold of her chi once again, as more questions fogged, and clouded her mind.

Viper was about to continue speaking as Tigress opened the door with one hand, looking slightly more slouched than usual. It was clear to see that she was lost in thought, but Viper, enraged, didn't care. "Who do you think you are?" Viper called out, as Monkey, Crane, and Mantis backed her up. "Po ha…!" Viper started, but stopped when Tigress looked her in the eyes, appearing more exasperated than she'd ever seen her.

"You have no idea what's going on, do you?" She growled. Viper stared back looking less enraged, but more confused and misled, and remained silent. Tigress didn't feel the need to tell her of what had happened, so instead, she demanded that she fill her in. "What happened when Po got here?" she asked, sounding slightly less aggravated than before.

Viper looked at her innocently, then begun. "Well, we were all here talking about, and enjoying the breakfast Po had made for us this morning, when he dashed in, absolutely petrified, and tried to run to his barracks.. Unfortunately, he tripped over the mess I'm assuming _you_ left from this morning." she mentioned, thinking Tigress had, in one of her mediocre rages, thrown her breakfast to the floor. "He's in his room now, but he hasn't directly spoken to _anyone_ since he got back." she finished, then stared at her in a shunning sort of way, as did the other three, when Tigress said something nobody expected to hear.

"Thank you. I can't explain this to you guys now, but I assure you, none of this is how it seems. I have to go see Po." The four creatures sat before her, speechless and dumbfounded. Then Tigress walked, with a purpose, to Po's room. But once she reached it, she could once again hear someone sounding quite troubled within. It was Po, mumbling random things amongst himself.

She walked closer to the door, so she could hear what it was that he was saying.

_Thank you all for reading! Please review! Thank you!_


	4. A Night To Remember

**Life's Full Of Surprises.**

**_Please note, future chapters will be written based on reviews!_ THANK YOU ALL FOR READING!**

**Also Kung Fu Panda is owned by Dreamworks, please support the official movies, books, etc.! I DO NOT OWN KUNG FU PANDA!**

"..I can't beleive I let this happen!" she vaguely heard Po say, lost amidst his own denial. "She's my friend! My best friend! I have to snap out of this.. It's just a little crush." he continued, as Tigress gasped once again, and felt a grin spread its way across her face.

"..but she's so beautiful!" said Po, as he continued to wrestle his thoughts in an attempt to think more clearly. Tigress's cheeks reddened in response to this new realization; 'Perhaps there is hope..!' she deduced, as she felt her chi balance out slightly; she felt the warmth return to her fingertips, and throughout the rest of her body. 'What is this I keep feeling?' she thought, astounded. 'Where did all thi-'

"But what can I do..?" Po cut in, summoning Tigress from her cogitations. Tigress shook her head, and carefully pressed her ear up against the door, unsure of what more she could do to interveen.

"..Maybe I should just give up." Po went on, thinking aloud; "Maybe this is hopeless after all.."

"No Po, don't!" Tigress insinuated quietly;

"Maybe I should just try to move on; even if I am unhappy.." Po continued, as Tigress felt a wrenching pain arise in her stomach, "..I love her, but she's a warrior; nerves of steel. She has no time for me.." Tigress fell to one knee, still pressed against the door; "Don't do this.." she whispered, unable to bear the thought pertaining to losing the only possible love she'd ever known.

"THAT'S IT!" yelled the panda in an attempt to convince himself of what he'd already conceived as being untrue, "I'm just going to forget about all of th-"

"NO!" Tigress finally insinuated, incapable of holding the mind-shuddering eruption within herself anymore, "Po, I love you!" she called out, then clasped her mouth shut as the tension that had built up within her very soul released, bringing with it a deep hate toward all of these emotional highs and lows; She just wanted all of these strange-happenings within of herself to come to an end. When suddenly, she felt a tear, perhaps one of joy, roll its way down her cheek, as time froze in its tracks; caught between two opposite emotions. And she knelt amongst the silence of the instant. She listened closely to the noises of the background that often went unnoticed, and, sadly, unappreciated.

She could hear crickets chirping, and wind blowing past calmly. And even, off in the distance, the sound of children dancing and singing. A picture painted itself in her mind, she could see the young animals playing around an open fire. Two girls, and three boys. The flame whirred pleasantly to the three that were near it, whilst the other two ran and played in the nearby grass, laughing as it tickled and carressed their dew-moistened feet. She thought of how she'd never gotten to experience such childhood memories, how she'd never really gotten to enjoy lifes smaller, finer things.

She promised herself that she would, after all of this was all over, she promised that she would enjoy life just a little bit more.. When without warning, she felt shock as the door slid open from behind her snooping ear; and jumped to her feet. Behind the door was Po, who looked on with empathy; abruptly back to his usual self.

She let a small, gentle smile seep its way across her lips; and to her alleviation, he smiled back. She fell into his arms, crippled from the pressure of this one, very odd day. As the lone tear finished it's run down her cheek, she said; "Don't you EVER put me through anything like that again!" Po's smile fanned further as he held her tighter.

She wished she could hold onto this particular moment forever, but moved on reluctantly; and announced "You can all come out now.".

Startled, Viper called out, "That; was beautiful!" as she, Monkey, Crane and Mantis came out from hidding around the corner, leading to the dining room. Tigress's single tear seemed to vanish from her cheek as she quickly turned and stood more straightly; But Po dropped his right arm around her, pulling downward on her perfect posture. She laughed as the smilling group then strolled, without any form of organization, toward the new couple. Laughter and cheer filled the air, as they celebrated their new-found relationship.

Afterwards, the entire group found themselves in the dining room, enjoying both Po's freshly made "Secret Ingredient Soup" and a story told by Po himself. Everyone's eyes centered upon him.

As he stacked the soup bowls along his arm, he told of a fictional story from his past. He spoke of "the invincible force of the undefeatable rhino". Who he, himself, had defeated. His body gestures and facial expressions could have told the story on their own; but his talent with words intrigued the crowd to an even greater extent. The entire group laughed, and celebrated; even Tigress, who seemed to be enjoying the experience just a little bit more than she usually would have.

Crane and Monkey whispered and joked of how Po and Tigress seemed to lock eyes ever so often, but never directly spoke. They both laughed amongst themselves, but no one really seemed to notice. Eventually, the group seemed to thin out, as Viper left, followed by Monkey and Mantis, and then Crane; who exited inconspicuously as soon as the couple wasn't paying attention. And finally, the duo was left alone.

Po smiled at Tigress, and as their eyes met, she asked, "..would you like to go sit by 'The Sacred Peach Tree', so we can talk?". Po agreed, and they walked silently out to the tree, careful not to wake anyone with the creek of the old wooden door.

Once they reached the tree, Tigress begun, "So how long have you been in _love_ with me?" she asked in a curious tone, as she walked, to seat herself by the base of the tree. There was a delay, and she glanced back. Po couldn't help but watch the moon as it lingered upon her glowing liquified-crystal eyes. He answered the question calmly as he seated himself next to her. "Tigress, I've always loved you.." he said as he felt her eyes fixate upon him.

"Always..?" she asked in disbelief, "You seemed quite troubled earlier, for someone who'd always loved me.." he looked her in the eyes, "Oh, you, uhmm.. You heard that..?"

"I heard enough" she replied.

Po continued to stare into the moons rounded reflection, captured by the hypnotic glaze of her eyes. "Well," he said, "You see, i've always had feelings for you.. Whether they were feelings of admiration, or something else; they were always there."

Tigress moved in closer, as Po continued to speak.

"But when I met you, I knew there was something different.. I knew you were special.." Po saw Tigress's jaw untense and drop slightly as his words danced in her head; "The way you walk, the way you talk, your personality, one after another.. I fell in love with every part of you.." Tigress's eyes watered slightly, as Po forced a smile across his face.

"So how long ha-?" Po started, as Tigress dramatically laid herself across his thighs.

"Since the moment I first laid eyes on you." She said as she suddenly felt overwhelmed with fatigue, laying upon the panda's soft, comfortable lap. She yawned and let out a low growl, as he observed her exhaustion, he gently laid himself down next to her.

She fell asleep almost instantly, but he stayed awake to luxuriate in the moment. And with the newly found warmth in his heart, he managed to savour every last bit of it. His arm was strewn across her perfectly to feel each provocative wave of her breath, every up and down movement her body made, he could feel flow through him as though they were his own. He felt a melody form in his mind to suit the rhythm of her physique, and finally, fell from his awakened daze as a seductive purr tucked him in, and kissed his incessant thoughts goodnight.

_Thank you all for reading! Please review! Thank you!_


	5. Joy, at Last!

**Life's Full Of Surprises.**

**_Please note, future chapters will be written based on reviews!_ THANK YOU ALL FOR READING!**

**Also Kung Fu Panda is owned by Dreamworks, please support the official movies, books, etc.! I DO NOT OWN KUNG FU PANDA!**

The melody of crickets, trees and wind did all but take from the ambience of the night. The lovers laid almost perfectly still, save for a couple slight, harmonious, and gentle movements; This mood stayed present until the sun rose and gently began to kiss every square inch of their bodies. Starting from the feet, and making its way to their faces; Slowly warming, and caressing them as it gently called their drowsy minds to life. When alas, an oh-so-familiar noise cut gently through the air; as a young, lively bird caroled and sang it's beautiful song, spreading it about like butter on warm toast; and passed over the unusual couple, laid atop a sacred mountain, cuddling happily for warmth.

Tigress awoke first, facing away from Po; upon the edge of the love-filled bluff. She looked over and around the angelic lands, and foretold a beautiful day. The skies were clear, and she could easily see the city beneath them, glowing with a redish-orange tint, as the sun bathed it in color. All was cromatic, apart from a small amount of early-morning fog, mazing its way through the clustered, yet abandoned early-morning streets.

After witnissing such beauty, she found difficulty in pulling herself away; and displayed a modest hesitation in doing so. But after detaching from the museum-worthy picture before her, she suddenly bacame aware of the soft weight nesting upon her side. She eased her hand down to it, and felt it raise to meet her halfway. Their hands tangled payfully, and came to grasp one another, as Po began to speak.

"Good morning, muffin." he said, taking joy in knowing such a comment would agitate her.

She smiled, knowing he could not see, "Mast-" she started, when abruptly, she thought back to the events that had occured just a few hours before, "Dragon Warrior." she cut in, in a seductive tone. He felt her shrug slightly, wondering if what she'd decided to call him by had been any better than simply 'Master Po.'; he reassured her it was by pulling her calmy even closer.

As their bodies touched, so did their hearts; and passion flailed through the both of their minds. Po felt pride, as Tigress felt an unknown tenderness; but as their souls intertwined and enticed one another, so did the pleasures they'd both withdrawn from this synergy. And as they did so, they began to amplify without control. Suddenly, Tigress pulled away; still unready for such a drastic leap in character. Po grinned, not worrying of such doubts, and moved on, "Well, looks like it's time for breakfast." he said with confidence.

Tigress thought back and tried to think of her last meal. Then it occured to her, she hadn't eaten since the morning before! A look of hunger found its way to her face, as she, with less gracefulness than usual, lifted herself to her feet. She stumbled slightly, then moved her right hand to her stomach. As she did so, she heard a growl protrude and vibrate from within; almost as loud as her own. Po watched on, and asked, "And what'll it be today, m'lady?" as he slowly lifted himself to his feet from one knee.

Tigress looked up from her tired abdomen, and said, "Surprise me." then paused, and added, "but make it quick.".

She forced a smile to overcome her look of hunger, as Po laughed. "Don't worry," he said, "I'll have you eating, and full, before you can say 'superholyjeezihaven'teatensinceposcrepesyesterday!". He then dashed briskly back to the palace, as Tigress watched and laughed, witnessing him stumble clumsily over a small, harmless rock. As she began stepping her way toward the palace, she summoned the strength to achieve as closely as she could to her usual elegance. She licked a single paw and tried to unruffle her fur, at least to the slightest extent, but saw no difference; then laughed once again, forgot of such unreasonable worries, and walked on.

After reaching the palace, she could hear the others chearing, and teasing Po playfully. She giggled slightly as she captured bits and pieces of what was being said; "So Po, how was last night? Didn't hear you two come back to your rooms.." remarked Mantis, as the others laughed supportingly, and Tigress tried to imagine the look upon Po's face. "Well it's clear she didn't bite your head off; so I guess we know nothing happened." Mantis continued as did the others' laughter.

Tigress crept silently through the door at this moment. She first saw Po, making use of, and facing the stove; trying to ignore the immaturity being exhibited behind him. She next observed a half-moon shaped audience composed of Monkey, Viper, and Crane; facing her, and all slowly veering their eyes in her direction. In the center was Mantis, who was standing and making somewhat comical jestures, not yet realizing that she had entered. "..Unless tigers bite somewhere else for pleasure.." He finally let slip; as all the cheer and laughter immediately came to an end; except for his own.

He laughed awkwardly for only a second, then peered around the room. The three Masters before him were sitting motionless, focusing in the direction of the door. As he observed how their jaws were dropped, and how Po stood motionless in front of stove, gazing at him in disbelief; He instantly realized what had happened, and turned to see a very serious-looking tiger behind him.

He let an innocent smile form on his face, as he began to beg for forgiveness, "Oh, uhm- hey, Tigress.." he stared, terrified, into her eyes, "H-how m-much did you hear...?".

She glared down at him seriously, as she walked passed with exagerated slowness. "I'll deal with you later." she said, displaying a long-forgotten,_ hardcore_ Tigress. Everyone watched as she then snapped back to the gentle, amorous tiger, which only seemed to unveil itself in the presence of Po. "..right now i'm too hungry." Mantis let out a sigh of relief, hoping she would forget of what had happened before getting to 'deal' with him.

Tigress next walked to her panda, and hugged him from behind. "What's for breakfast?" she asked, looking over his shoulder at what he was making. "Well," Po started, then paused for effect amongst the uncomfortable silence; "Noodles and dumplings; Dragon Warrior-style!" he called out, as he brought all twelve bowls and plates to the table at once; demonstrating astonishing skill not one of the other masters had at their disposal. And with this act, all the tension seemed to dissipate into meriment, as the five all thanked Po, and began to eat!

After a meal filled with both pleasure, and a small amount of 'reasonable' teasing; An individual noone had seen for quite a while sauntered through the palace doors. Everyone instantly stopped talking, and turned; The mood abruptly became saturated with confusion, as they watched the creature walk in, stop in place, and look about; Grinning slightly, as though nothing had changed.

_Thank you all for reading! Please review! Thank you!_


	6. An Announcement

**Life's Full Of Surprises.**

**_Please note, future chapters will be written based on reviews!_ THANK YOU ALL FOR READING!**

**Also Kung Fu Panda is owned by Dreamworks, please support the official movies, books, etc.! I DO NOT OWN KUNG FU PANDA!**

_Hello readers! I would just like to say, for the last few chapters I'd been suffering from writers block, and, to be honest, it's been udder hell. Regardless, I started reading some stories around the site, and received the exact inspiration I needed to write the following. As you may notice, I've changed the style of writing a bit. I'd love to hear what you think via a review! ;) I am quite proud with how this chapter turned out in comparison to the past few, and would like to say, "YES!" I will be putting some life back into this story, using the vague relationship I'd built for Po and Tigress! Thank you all for supporting me! And thank you all for the reviews! Particularly 666Neme666 and Wra1thRid3r! Thank you both for always coming back and supporting me! ...and without further ado, the story!_**  
><strong>

The man shut his eyes and inhaled deeply through his nose. As he exhaled, he reopened his eyes, and peered around the room. He next began to remove some of his many carry-on items; A flute, pipe, hat, and finally, a staff. The masters before him were at a complete loss for words; that is, save for Po.

"Master Shifu!" he called out, as he ran to him for a hug. But to his surprise, once he'd reached the door, Master Shifu had seemingly dissapeared.

"Not quite today." said the noble mentor, from behind the dumbstruck panda. Po jumped at the sound of his voice, and spun quickly. Looking between where the Master was and where he had stood just moments before, "How did you-?" he started as Tigress cut in, "Master," she started as she bowed, "w-where have you been?".

Master Shifu paused, and answered reluctantly, "Well, I've -uhm.." he stopped to think. "I've been..uhm.." he started again, as Po impeded, "Off fighting bandits of nebulous mountain!" he declared enthusiastically, as Shifu glared at him. Po looked down into the reddened eyes that piercingly gawked back at him, and quickly looked away, pretending as though he hadn't said anything. Tigress let out a chuckle as Shifu turned his gaze over to her; she stopped abruptly, and apologized, "forgive me master.".

Shifu stared at her for only a second, wondering what he found so odd about what had just transpired. Then looked away and continued his response, "I've, well I've just been relaxing." he said in a somewhat confident tone; he himself trying to piece together what had just escaped his lips. The group all fixated on him, once again, with tremendous confusion; until Po started to laugh slightly. Moments after, Mantis joined in, as did Monkey; When suddenly, Shifu peered up from his lost goggle, "What? What's so funny?" he said as the laughter instantly died.

"It's just.. It just doesn't really seem like you're the type to.." Po begun, as his eyes met Shifu's, "..you know.." he finished nervously.

Shifu took in Po's comment, and observed the five's supporting looks, as he, just as rapidly, composed a viable response. "Well, you see, I haven't been to battle, or even out of the Valley Of Peace for over 10 years!" he stated as the audience before him tried to understand what it was he was saying. "And, well, then you came along Po, and now.. Well, let's be honest, you haven't exactly made it easy on me." Po smiled slightly, and nodded agreeingly; "So, after getting out of valley, I just realized how long it had been since I'd gotten a break.". This statement was followed by a few short seconds of silence, which they'd all needed drastically.

When finally, Shifu broke this silence, "But," he exclaimed, "That's not what's important!" this statement aroused the minds of everyone in the room, as they moved slightly closer. "While I took my day off, I met up with an old friend... A certain, emperor of China." He said, back to his usual pride-filled self, "And he just so happened to invite me to a tournament of Kung Fu.". As these words fell from his mouth, Po's face lit up. He let out a small yelp, as the others glared over at him quietly, appearing almost completely indifferenced; so he did the best he could to hold it in.

"We aren't going are we..?" Tigress asked, displaying almost no interest in the idea of a tournament. Po looked over at her with what can only described as disgust; "Not going?" he exclaimed, feeling as though she was purposely trying to annoy him; "Why would we not go?" he asked eagerly, awaiting a reply from anyone in the room.

"Because it's against our vows as Masters of the Art." Crane declared in an assured manner.

"Yes." said Shifu, as his students turned their attention from Crane to him. "Upon regular occasion, we would not attend such recreational events." his students faced him with consent, when his next words pulled them from their accedement, as he surely knew they would; "But, given the circumstances, I believe we should attend." he paused, waiting for his wisdom to be questioned.

"And what would these circumstances be, master?" Tigress asked with intrigue.

Shifu smiled, satisfied with the dramatic build he'd put in place for his 'big announcement'. "Well," he started, "These tournaments have gone on annually for the masters of light Kung Fu for years,-decades that is, and this year will be the 100th anniversary of the first tournament, and therefore, the 100th tournament."

"Master, I don't see ho-" Tigress begun to cut in anxiously, as Shifu shot her a glare;

"As I was saying," Shifu continued, "naturally, they wanted to do something 'special' for this occasion.". His onlookers couldn't help but become enticed by what he had said, and eyed him earnestly.

"After confronting me, and kindly asking for my opinion, I told him of what I believed should occur." the group before him continued to watch, as he paced back and forth across the floor. "What I told him was simple." he followed this declaration with a pause, "Perhaps we should make this tournament stand for more than only masters of the_ light _side of Kung Fu. Perhaps we should use it for an even greater purpose." He looked around at the abashed faces before him, and chuckled slightly, "He gave me the same look," he said as he continued to grin. "I asked him if he would mind inviting Masters of the_ dark _side of Kung Fu to the challenges as well.". Suddenly the looks of abashment turned to anger, as Tigress called out "How could you do such a thing!" Shifu glanced at her, and laughed slightly once again, "I did this to convert them, of course." he said proudly.

The group pondered the meaning of his statement, then Viper asked, fascinated, "But.. How..?";

Shifu answered this as though he'd been rehearsing a response for months, "We will simply show them the power of light Kung Fu. Which, as every great master knows, can only truly reach it's fullest potential, when seeded in a heart of pure kindness."

Tigress nodded as though she'd already extracted this from what he had said. Then questioned further, "But master, what makes you think they will come upon being invited?"

Shifu answered this with ease as well, "The answer to that is simple, because we'll be there; And what master could resist the opportunity to face both The Furious Five and The Dragon Warrior, in a single tournament?" Shifu called out with a tone of inspiration.

Subsequently, Po's look of excitment returned as he cheered with merriment, "WHOO! My first Kung Fu tournament!"

Shifu couldn't help but smile at Po's positive attitude, and continued with his statement, "Now, my students, let's begin our preparations, as the tournament starts at the end of the week!". Po began jumping around the room, as he eventually managed to transfer some of his excitement to his companions. Even Tigress smiled at the thought, 'Perhaps, this could be fun.' she confessed to herself.

"Now, off to the training room!" Shifu advanced, "And resume the rigorous training _I can only assume_ you'd all done in my absence!" he glanced over at Po, who stopped cheering and smiled back naively.

Po looked away trying to avoid the regular disappointment he seemed to induce within Shifu; as his eyes met, and locked with Tigress's. Abruptly, he realized what it was he'd forgotten to tell his master. Tigress simply continued to stare back at him with a look that said 'Go on..'; all the while being too, for lack of better term, _scared_ to do it herself. Po turned away from her scrutiny, feeling butterflies come to life and dance in his stomach. He wanted to throw up as a result of the feeling, but it rapidly faded as he turned to see that the red panda had already left the room. With no remnants or evidence except for his few belongings, and the doors that bounced shut behind him.

Po came back around to gander at Tigress, who was leaning against the jagged corner of the room, rolling her eyes after witnessing the display Po had just put on. She raised a finger and signalled for Po to approach, as she shifted and propelled slightly from the wall. She then made her way to her barracks, a private room for them to talk in silence.

_Thank you all for reading! Please review! Thank you!_


	7. Worries and Training

**Life's Full Of Surprises.**

**_Please note, future chapters will be written based on reviews!_ THANK YOU ALL FOR READING!**

**Also Kung Fu Panda is owned by Dreamworks, please support the official movies, books, etc.! I DO NOT OWN KUNG FU PANDA!**

_Well, here it is, chapter 7! Which, if my calculations were correct, should put me over 10 000 words! :)) Thank you all for reading/reviewing and supporting me. And no, this is by no means a "climax" part of the story, more so a layout, not even the inciting force yet! (but I do have a plan for that.) So if you enjoy this, please come back, as I promise you, you haven't seen ANYTHING yet! :) Also, please tell me what you think of the story, because without your reviews or PM's, I have no idea if I'm putting out what you enjoy/want to read! THANK YOU ALL!_

They stood opposite of one another in her room, speculating the odd situation in dead silence. Tigress found herself leaning against her dresser, as Po paced the floor; trying to find a way out of telling Shifu of their newborn relationship.

"You know you'll have to tell him eventually, don't you?" Tigress subtlely asked the uneasy panda, at last interrupting the strange absense of sound.

"Well, maybe I don't.." he said, as Tigress looked up with a smug grin; awaiting the dopey reasoning she'd anticipated Po would try to come up with. "..maybe we can just hide it.. y-you know, until it doesn't matter so much.. maybe once we're older? Like, thirty-or even forty?".

She laughed at his overly-childlike response to the situation. "Po," Tigress started, as Po stopped his pointless pacing, and looked up from his feet, meeting her eyes with an inexplicably fearful gaze; "I'm sure you know how ridiculous that sounds." she calmly replied with a smile, as she hoped and prepared for Po's eventual cave in.

"Not really.." Po stated, sounding more childlike than ever, "Well.. Maybe.. Uhm.. w-well, why don't you tell him?"

Tigress's eyes widened at the thought Po had conveyed; not expecting the situation to be turned upon her so bluntly, "W-what? M-me? Why me?" she asked with reluctance, as she mentally crossed her fingers in hope that Po would not bring forth a reasonable argument.

Po stood in silence as he refocused his eyes on his toes, initially thinking, as a result of her antsy tone, the suggestion he'd come up with was completely proposterous. When unexpectedly, he realized it wasn't. "Wait a minute," he begun as Tigress's eyes widened further, and she gritted her teeth slightly, "You **should** be the one to tell him." he finished as Tigress untensed her face, knowing her efforts had gone without purpose. "Y-yeah," Po continued, "He's your dad.. And really, you've known him longer.. and-" Po started listing reasons, as Tigress intervened.

"I know!" Tigress stated, as Po's look of sophistication developed into the same smug grin she'd portrayed earlier. "It should be me to tell him. It's ju-"

"Tigress! Po!" Shifu called from down the hall, causing Po to jump slightly.

"C-Coming Master!" Tigress said, as she continued, "It's just so hard to tell him of such things.." she paused momentarily to think, as Po looked on, trying to understand, "Shifu and I, we've hardly been father and daughter, our relationship has only truly been linked through Kung Fu.." Po kept watching as she continued, "But you two.." Po's eyes met with Tigress's as she stopped her statement, figuring she'd said and implied enough.

"Awh! Come on!" Po said defensively, as his grin jumped its way back to her face, "That's not fair!" he said guilessly, trying once again to talk his way out of a dead end; "Just because of my heart-warming personality, and-If I do say so myself-rugged good looks; I have to tell Shifu?" Po joked, as Tigress continued to search for a means to tell her father, without getting the both of them-particularly Po-killed. When suddenly, with the voice of Shifu, an idea shot through her mind;

"Tigress! Po! We're waiting!" Shifu hollered.

"What if we both tell him?" she asked, as Po studied the idea for a few seconds;

"Waddya mean?" he asked curiously, as Tigress's look of triumph faded to one of worriment.

"I mean, -ah.. I mean.. I don't know. But when the situation presents itself, I'm sure we'll know." she said with a smirk, knowing she'd been pushed to the point of developing excuses, and pushing off the task at hand.

Po laughed, taking pride in knowing she'd been brought down to his level, "Hah-alright. Let's just go with that for now then." he said with satisfaction, as Tigress couldn't help but join in his laughter, stopping to say, "We'll decide later-_for real_.".

Po nodded, as Shifu's voice pierced through the air and rang in their ears, "PO! TIGRESS!" Po covered his head, as Tigress continued to laugh, and they both replied simultaneously: "Coming Shifu!".

They next found themselves with an enraged Shifu in the dining room, yelling, "BOTH OF YOU-TO THE TRAINING HALL, AS I SAID TWENTY MINUTES AGO, NOW!". With this, Po and Tigress scampered without a word to the training hall to begin their training. Shifu smiled at the site of his students finally obeying him, and quickly put an ancient breathing technique to work, calming his irritated mind; Then peacefully walked his way to the training hall as well, at a genuinely slow pace.

"Alright guys," Po declared to the huddled group which stood around him; consisting of Mantis, who stood to his left on the shoulder of Monkey, who had his arm rested lightly upon Viper, who stood next to Tigress, who's arm rested on, and was rested upon by Crane's wing, who leant over Po. "As you all know, this is will be my first Kung Fu tournament, so, I would appreciate it if you could all try to keep up to my speed." he smiled at his ridiculous comment, as did the others, "Also, I would like to get as much training in as possible over the next couple of days, so that I can be at my fullest potential." the group nodded approvingly as he continued, "And, well, I was sorta wondering if you guys would mind giving me a hand.." with this request, the five masters spoke at once, all answering, without a doubt, positively.

Soon, the answers turned to conversations, probably a result of the first rule-free day off they were gifted with just the day before; And Po was forced to butt in, hasty to begin his 'extreme' training. "Alright, alright, settle down." he said in a joking tone, that quickly swapped out for a serious one, "I think it's time we get this show on the road!" he exclaimed, as the five nodded once again, burst into action, and started to train at an accelerated pace. He took a couple seconds to grin at all the commotion he'd started, then commenced his _basic_ warm-up.

He started with a few simple stretches, approaching the 'training dummy' and preparing to attack. Suddenly, he moved in, slamming it down with his forearm, spinning as he did so, and coming back around to have it rebound into his face; as it always did. Immediately after, he heard a feminine laugh trail its way to his ear, and turned to see an amused-looking Tigress, "Oh, uhm- did you-uh, did you see that?" he asked, trying to place tabs on whether or not his feeling of embarrassment was in vain.

Tigress ignored his painfully-obvious question, knowing how relevant the answer should have been, and simply stated, "You will not see any progress in your skills by training on a dummy." then eased into her signature fighting stance, positioned her eyes on Po, and said "I am ready.".

Po couldn't help but grin, as he too eased into his fighting stance, and prepared to spar. "So am I." he said with confidence, then roared "GET READY TO FEEL THE THUNDER!".

Suddenly, they both rushed toward one another, and met in the center of their imaginary ring, positioned in front of the training hall's doors. They traded blows repeatedly, both searching for flaws in one another's techniques, or even a small, potentially fatal mistake. Neither of them knowing the speed at which the round was about to end.

Tigress noticed the first error, as Po blocked her left knee with his right hand, leaving the entire right side of his torso open to her attacks. She moved quickly, and struck with her left hand; causing Po to kneel forward a little in pain, once again, allowing his guard to fall. With this, she paced her way back by a single step; and spun into the air with tremendous speed, purposely meeting Po's face with her left foot; And subsequently landing her perfectly-executed round house kick.

Po fell to the ground, as Tigress snapped out of her combatant-self, and returned to her regular persona. Following this, she peered down at him caringly; realizing the exemption seriousness seemed to have taken from the round. Next, Po sat up and rubbed his cheek, looking, all-in-all, not even fazed by the tremendous kick she'd just landed on him. "Wow," he said, "I thought you'd go easy on me, being your boyfr-" he almost let slip, as he spotted Shifu stroll into the training room from the corner of his eye, "I mean; jeez! That hurt!" he yelled as he made eye contact with Tigress, widening his eyes slightly, and clenching his teeth together. The others looked over attentively upon hearing him holler, trying to decipher the event that had transpired.

She could hardly withstand laughing, as she smiled and offered her hand to help him to his feet. He took her hand, and pulled himself up. As his height met hers, she prepared to speak, and give him the usual suggestions on how to improve, but wasn't given a chance.

"I know, I know, I just wasn't ready that time!" Po stated in denial, searching for excuses as he always did. "I still had to warm up!"

She grinned as a result of his determination, knowing that no matter how many times they fought, and how many times she won, he would never be satisfied. Actually, as she sifted through her memories, she couldn't recall a single time he'd managed to even come close to beating her. Abruptly, she caught herself sinking deeper into her thoughts, and dragged herself back to the moment.

"Alright then, show me in round two." she responded, then looked down to realize they were still holding hands, and peered to her side to see Shifu watching sceptically. Confused as to what she could possibly do to explain, and finding it impossible not to blush, she pulled herself forward, and walked past Po. "Shifu's watching us now. Try to pay attention!" she whispered into his ear, as she repositioned herself in the corner of their 'imaginary ring', and once again entered her signature fighting stance.

Po looked to his side to see the red panda gazing back at him distantly. Po forced a smile to come to his face, as Shifu's jerked back to life.

"Po, get into position, and face your competitor." Shifu said impassively. Po did as he said, and prepared himself. "I want you to focus Po. I don't want you to think of anything other than the fight at hand. Regulate your breathing, and be aware of your surroundings, but never remove yourself from the battle." said Shifu, trying to emphasize on where Po generally and usually made most of his mistakes. In the meantime, Po took in what Shifu said as best he could, and moved his hands into a fighting position, signifying his readiness.

"Ready.." called Shifu, as both Tigress and Po nodded slightly, and centered their attention on each other.

As per their usual practice, and upon both witnessing and feeling the upswing in intensity, the other fighters gathered around behind Po, forming a small audience; and silently routing for one of the two. Of course, with the doubtless knowledge that Tigress would win, no one bothered to question the unquestionable; or, more plainly, the outcome of the battle. Yet somehow, and for some reason, the intensity lingered and evolved nonetheless. Moreover, Po was never one to be predictable, and his ever-changing technique made it quite difficult to track his progress. A belief that uncontrollably stained the thoughts of the entire group, including those belonging to Shifu.

"Fight!" he called at last, as Tigress's eyes squinted on Po, and she charged in for an attack; briefly catching Po employ a new technique, doing nothing more than standing perfectly still, and shutting his eyes completely.

_Thank you all for reading! Please review! Thank you!_


	8. The First Link

**Life's Full Of Surprises.**

**_Please note, future chapters will be written based on reviews!_ THANK YOU ALL FOR READING!**

**Also Kung Fu Panda is owned by Dreamworks, please support the official movies, books, etc.! I DO NOT OWN KUNG FU PANDA!**

_And... I present to you.. chapter 8! A tricky chapter for me whereas I didn't get much sleep this weekend, but I think it turned out very well.. Regardless, this WOULD be considered the start of the inciting force. But, believe me, the true greatness and excitement is yet to come! :) Also, I would really, really, really love to hear what you think via a review! Thank you all so much!_

At first, she dawned a look of intrigue; but it quickly swapped back to one of concentration. She then moved her right fist into her view, and swept it forward; grinning with the knowledge that it would most certainly hit it's target. When suddenly, something peculiar happened.

As she removed her attention from her fist, and prepared for her next attack, she felt it hit resistance far sooner than she'd expected. Subsequently, she turned her attention back to her fist, and saw the black and white forearm that had apparently blocked it. She instantly looked back to his face, to see him smile, and notice his eyes, which remained shut. A gasp escaped her, but she remained on the attack.

Indifferently, he blocked every strike she threw at him. It was a new, and odd feeling for her. To feel as though, at any given moment, she actually _couldn't _win the fight. But this only pushed her further. She continued to attack, faster, stronger, and with more agility, but Po blocked each and every one. Sweat began to gather on the both of them, as Po's look of relaxation slowly turned to one of focus, and his mouth closed tightly, as did his eyes, and Tigress continued to elevate her intensity.

***Meanwhile***

"Fight!" yelled Shifu, marking the start of the round.

Expecting to see the usual techniques of both of his fighters, he prepared to relax. But, to his surprise, Po did nothing but shut his eyes. At first he suspected he would deploy the "inner peace" technique, and chuckled slightly, seeing the Tiger propel towards him, and knowing he would never have enough time.

But he then realized this was not the case at all, "Could it be..?" he asked himself aloud, as his fellow onlookers glared towards him momentarily. He then saw Tigress raise her fist, "..not now...not today.." he said, with all his concentration on Po. And then it happened, no one else noticed it, but it happened. Only Shifu caught the odd movement that took place, that most others would simply regard as unperceivable speed. He caught Po's arm appearing as though it had just materialized in position to block, and knew, he had tremendous work to do. Next, he hurriedly turned and walked out of the door, saying "carry him to Oogways' room afterwards." to his students, as they stared at each other in confusion.

"_carry_ him..?" asked Viper after his leaving, as the others' looks reflected the same question and tone, and they worriedly turned their attention back to the fight.

** *The fight***

Tigress continued to attack, surprised not only at how well Po was blocking, but how he never attempted to strike back. '..It's odd', she thought, as the surrounding sounds faded out, and she continued to throw punches and kicks; '..he still hasn't opened his eyes...'. Suddenly, she moved her attention back to the fight, the sound returning as she decided to start using a few more advanced moves.

She started by backing off slightly, allowing herself room to attack. Then threw herself into a backward flip, trying to catch Po in the chin on her way back, but having him block it as though it were any other attack she'd used thus far. Regardless, she now had enough room for her _actual_ attack.

"Is she going to use.." Mantis started as Crane finished, "yes, the sprinting tiger.".

Po caught these words, but kept his eyes closed. Not knowing why, but still feeling an unfamiliar force telling him not to open them. Of course, this would never keep Po from getting to witness one of his favorite moves in Tigress's arsenal. He alas decided to open them, believing he was capable, but they seemed to be stuck shut. 'What the..?' he thought, affright, and beginning to lose touch with his surroundings.

Tigress smiled, preparing to move into position. For this move, she only needed speed, which she would then transfer into sheer momentum. Knowing this all too well, and only having a small amount of space to work with, she rocketed forward all at once. Dropping onto all fours, and charging toward Po, evidently allowing the animal within herself to take over. But after approaching close enough, she began to sense his internal struggle.

'Come on..! Open!' he thought to himself, trying to overcome the force that was holding his eyes shut.

Unfortunately, Tigress couldn't afford to slow down, and told herself not to think of him as Po, but as a villain. With this, she growled and continued to charge, even faster than before. After mere milliseconds, she was close enough to apply a list of maneuvers or moves. But she decided on an upper-cut. Having decided this, she jumped to meet his height, and propelled herself forward, leading with her right fist.

When without warning, time seemed to slow.

From Po's point of view, his guard remained down as he struggled to open his eyes, in fear. 'COME ON! I'M GOING TO MISS IT!' he thought, far from the truth. 'THAT'S IT!' he continued, 'ONE, TWO, THREE, OPEN!' he yelled in his mind, as his eyes finally opened.. and he wished they hadn't.

Tigress noticed him open his eyes, as her hand was only inches away from his chin.

A look of terror found its way to his face, just as his eyes flickered shut and he started to fall back.

Upon seeing this, Tigress felt what can only described as panic, and without thinking, threw herself to the side, avoiding hitting him all together. She instead hit the wall back-first, having it harshly knock the wind out of her before landing on one knee; then dove across the floor in a desperate attempt to catch Po's head to keep any damage from occurring. But she was too late, and his entire body came crashing down, his feeble head bobbing only once; and silencing everyone.

The whole group stood in confusion, and stared down at the 'Dragon Warrior', who lay upon the floor; inexplicably knocked out. Tigress sat up, then knelt by his side, and shook him lightly, "Po! Po wake up!" she called to no avail. She next peered to her side expressing worry and puzzlement; only to see the others watching motionless.

"..Well.. I guess we take him to Oogways..?" Monkey asked, feeling as though he'd missed something.

Tigress stared blankly at him, "Oogways?" she replied impudently, having not heard Shifu's earlier comment, "..what's a dead turtle going to do?". With this said, the others looked at her with disgust, as she realized her disrespectful remark, and turned her fear-struck attention back to Po.

"Let's just go." Viper uttered.

After reaching the 'Hall of Warriors', or as they'd taken to honoring it, Oogways' room, they found an old blanket laid out in front of the Moon Pool. The rest of the room seemed almost untouched, apart from the medicinal items and tools surrounding the blanket. Moments after they gently set Po down on the quilt, Shifu appeared from a side hallway bearing several scrolls.

"Ah," he started, "It occurred faster than I suspected.. Of course, Po always has been over-anxious.".

The others watched, as Tigress rapidly started to question her master, "M-Master, what happened?" she exclaimed.

"I-I'm not really sure.." replied Shifu, eyeing Tigress slightly, then looking back to Po, "It wasn't supposed to happen yet.. At least I don't think it was.." he glanced back over at her as he continued, "He wasn't even supposed to be able to yet.." he knelt next to Po and checked his pulse, "The scroll said.. the scroll said.." he felt Po's forehead as he continued, "Oogway has never misled us before.." he stated justifiably.

"Master Shifu," interrupted Tigress, "What's going on?"

Shifu veered his attention from Po, to the five, and prepared to explain. But as his mouth opened, he realized that someone had snuck in behind them, and he turned his attention to her. "Ahh.. You've arrived." he affirmed, as his hands met one another, and he bowed slightly, and the visitor did the same.

As the group turned to look back, the clouds seemed to part from the sun behind their company through the propped-open door. A certain glow arose, which seemed to compliment her seductive mountain cat curves, as she walked, swinging her hips slightly into the hall. Her eyes sparkled mildly, as their emerald color added to her luscious green fur. An elegant smile found its way to her lips, as her perfect teeth came marginally into view.

Noticing this, Tigress ran her tongue across her own teeth, feeling their scarce imperfections as though they were far greater. A humorless look overcame her blank one, as she felt disapproval arise in her heart.

"Masters, I would like you all to meet-" Shifu commenced, as he was interrupted by Crane, "Mei Ling!" he called enthusiastically, as they ran toward one another.

"Crane!" she answered happily as they hugged, "It's been too long!"

Tigress started eyeing her, showing a noticeable amount of spite. But to her disappointment, regardless of her continuation, Mei Ling never seemed to notice.

"Yes it has." he said, as he looked down to Po.

"Oh!" said Mei Ling, "It's already happened?" she asked Shifu as he nodded. "This is.. Well it's unexpected.." she confirmed, as Shifu nodded again. He then interrupted, in no rush to tend to Po.

"Anyway, my students, this is Mei Ling." he stated, as each of his students bowed, excluding Tigress, and she giggled, "She is, along with both an old friend of Cranes and an excellent fighter, a skilled medical practitioner. She had also been chosen by Oogway, to perform a practice on Po during this dark hour.". Tigress was still holding her condemnative gaze on her.

"Well, should I just get to work, or..?" she asked and followed with another 'cute' giggle.

"Oh, well yes; if you think he's ready." answered Shifu, having, oddly, no idea.

"How long did you say he was out?" she quizzed in return.

"Well I'd say about 10 or 15 minutes.." Shifu replied as he looked at his students, and they all, save for a distracted Tigress, nodded approvingly.

"Oh, just that long..? Well.. Maybe we _should _give his mind a little rest.. considering the letter you sent _did_ say he was fighting when it first occurred.. Who'd you say he was fighting again?"

"Oh, Master Tigress." he said as he notioned toward her, and Mei Ling looked.

She ogled her for a second, her hand meeting her chin, "Must've come as a surprise to you.." she said tauntingly with another laugh.

Tigress snarled slightly in return to this comment, as Shifu shot her a look.

"..You must excuse Master Tigress.." he said, "She seems to get a little defensive in the face of these situations.." he then looked over at Tigress, who looked back proudly of what she had done, then spoke.

"Can you just wake him already?" she said forcively, as Shifu looked over at her once again, enraged.

"Tigress! You will not speak to our gues-" he started scolding, when Mei Ling cut in.

"Shifu, it's okay." She said, as both he and Tigress looked over, "I understand, she's just scared," Tigress was about to defend her image as Shifu shot her another glance, and she held her comment with a bite of her lip, "and a little anxious. It makes sense.. she's clearly quite close to Po.". With this, Tigress felt her jealous rage diminish slightly, loosened her posture, and grabbed her arm.

"..Can you _please_ wake him?" she asked in a more respectable tone.

To this, Mei Ling smiled, "Of course." she said with excitement, as she leapt to Po's side, and sat on her feet with her knees on the ground, commencing an ancient medicinal ritual. As she skillfully made use of the nearby medicines, pouring them upon him, and massaging points of pressure, she hummed a monotonous and soothing melody. The group watched for a couple seconds, as Shifu pulled their attention to the side.

"Anyway, my students," he said as the five turned their attention from Mei Ling over to him, "I guess it's time I explain what is going on." he mentioned with an inward sigh, then continued, "..an ancient scroll written by Oogway, our fallen mentor, tells of a very dark time that will be marked with a link to the Dragon Warriors mind. Which, as you may have noticed, is occurring now." he looked down to Po, as Mei Ling chanted a few rhythmic hymns, "Mei Ling has gone through extensive training to become the only person capable of temporarily separating the link, thus awakening Po once again, to fulfill his destiny." the group untensed upon hearing this news, as he quickly moved on. "Sadly, the link will continue to be made whenever he tries to concentrate, until he kisses the love of his life." with this, the group made quick, unsuspicious glances in Tigress's direction, causing her to blush unapparently with a roll of her eyes.

Shifu continued, "BUT-this is not all that we must worry about." suddenly the group tensed up once again, "As I said, a great evil will be coming upon us - If my calculations are correct - within the next 48-72 hours. On top of this, there is a reason Po's mind is being linked with. As you all witnessed in his fight with Tigress, his skills and concentration increase greatly under the influence of this connection; but, it seems this 'test-link' was quite unstable. Hence, the reasoning behind him fainting upon opening his eyes, or simply, a break in his concentration.".

"..But who-" started Tigress, before being overpowered by the final chants of the mountain cat behind her.

There was a momentary silence that Mei Ling broke in a confused tone, "Huh-" she said as Shifu rushed to her side, "...that's odd..."

"What, Master Ling, what has happened..?" Shifu blurted, sounding petrified as Po came into his view and his mouth hung slightly open.

_Ohohoho! What has happened? And what will happen next? Feel free to take your guesses via reviews, and wait/come back to see if your right! THANKS!_


	9. A Blurred Understanding

**Life's Full Of Surprises.**

**_Please note, future chapters will be written based on reviews!_ THANK YOU ALL FOR READING!**

**Also Kung Fu Panda is owned by Dreamworks, please support the official movies, books, etc.! I DO NOT OWN KUNG FU PANDA!**

_Here it is - Chapter 9! Perhaps not the longest - well.. technically the longest, but you know.. - , but a fair amount of information has been crammed into it. :) Anyway, don't worry about it if things still seem a little cloudy - It will be further explained in future chapters. This is a brief way of giving you all a 'glimpse'! Anywho, thanks for reading, and please review! Also - I know this chapter may not be filled with the same 'rising' intensity as the last two, but it can be difficult to explain what's going on in those types of chapters... Therefore, I shall make it a point to make the next chapter good..and..intense. :)_

Seconds after Shifu's gaze met Po's body, Mei Ling gasped. A red mist-like smoke arose from his chest in the form of a lock, but as it faded it subsided into a heart that was absorbed back into his left pectoral.

The group stood in wonderment as Shifu spoke, "Did you finish the practice?" he asked Mei Ling; who sat at his side, dumbstruck.

"Y..yes.. But this wasn't supposed to happen. He should've woken up." she stated, her confidence now obscured, and her joy distorted as a giggle never found its way to her lips.

"Master, what has happened?" asked Tigress with concern, still felling no reason to speak directly to Mei Ling.

"I-I don't know.. Mei Ling..?" Shifu let slip from himself as he stared blankly at the ever-resting panda.

"S-sorryyy.. I-It should have worked.."

"Well you obviously messed up." snapped Tigress.

"I...I...I don't-" Mei Ling struggled to find words, as she stared downward just as blankly as Shifu did, "I've practiced this a thousand times.. If not more.." she shut her eyes, letting a few more words leave her, "..he was supposed to be our only hope..".

With this, not even Tigress could muster up the integrity to jerk back. They all found themselves gazing toward the floor. Shifu's eyes shook and even watered slightly as he searched his wisdom for a valid solution. Crane, Monkey, Mantis, and Viper, being as disinformed as they were, simply gazed blankly with depressed expressions. Tigress stood with her arms crossed, biting her lip as she searched her clever mind for answers. And Mei Ling sat sadly, with a look of failure on her face, tearing up ever-so-slightly.

Suddenly, Shifu barked out a few commands, trembling at his whits end, "..Without the Dragon Warrior and his newly-acquired skills, our path is sure to be riddled with what I can only describe as unimaginable terror and misfortune.." he sighed as his posture fell with his breath, "But- We mustn't lose hope! We must pull together in this time of desperation, and you must all work together to train harder than you ever have before!" he exclaimed with the small amount of inspiration that remained in his body and soul.

The group faced him looking slightly more animate, and nodded simultaneously, running their way to the training hall. All except for Shifu, Mei Ling, Tigress, and, of course, Po left amidst the group. Tigress was the first to make a move amongst them after searching her clouded mind for a second longer, but finding nothing viable. A crestfallen look found her as she put on her old, hardcore persona and started a controlled sprint on all fours toward the door. But halted as a voice called out from behind her.

"Stop!" Shifu found himself yelling with reluctance. "Mei Ling, I know it seems that you have done all you can.. But may I ask that you stay with us for the next few days?"

Mei Ling looked up from her depressed stare, and found a smile as she nodded, figuring it was the least she could do.

"You will have to stay in Po's room tonight. And since you will be living the next few days as one of my pupils, you will be treated as one. I will have someone bring you some clothes from your house, but would request that you make your way to the training room as soon as possible."

Oddly enough, the mountain cat looked happy to take such a gesture. "Of course, Shifu. Whatever I can do to help. I'll get to training right away."

Shifu smiled at the sight of her running out of the hall into the blinding sunlight.

"Ahem." mumbled a standing Tigress from the door, awaiting what it was he had stopped her to say.

"Oh! Master Tigress." Shifu restrained a blush as he kept a stern look upon his face, "I must request something of you you may not be totally 'comfortable' with.." Tigress looked on, smiling in a way that nudged him to continue. He smiled back as his inner peace heightened slightly at the sight of her_ rare_ grin. "..Or you may be_ quite_ comfortable with..".

To this, Tigress looked puzzled, "What is it, Master?".

Shifu retained his smirk as he continued, regardless of the sadness that lay behind him, "I have observed a few discrepancies since I arrived here from my trip, and can't help but feel as though you have been hiding something.." Tigress's look of puzzlement switched to her legendary poker-face, but it was blessed with a small, inevitable blush. Shifu's smile widened as the blush, that would normally have gone unnoticed, was more than relevant to him. "And the fact that Po is in his current state amplifies my assumption ten-fold."

Tigress's hands found their way behind her back, where they anxiously fidgeted around one another in hopes that Shifu hadn't found out about their relationship. She glared down at Po with resentment, 'We agreed we'd tell him together!' she couldn't help but scowl in her mind. She also couldn't help but wonder if Po was really knocked out, or if he was just playing along to avoid the heat Shifu was focusing on her.

"And what is that?" she finally managed to ask in a tone much unlike her usual elegant one.

"I believe you know already." Shifu nudged in an attempt to make her spill, but saw her stare back with the same blank, but more blushed, look as before. "Perhaps I should read a small insert from _The Scroll Of Profound Lust_." he caught her gaze with the word 'lust' but she looked away quickly with an even deeper scarlet in her cheeks. "As you have probably realized, this is the scroll that has predicted the events Po is undergoing _as we speak_. The section I wanted to read to you is as follows," he cleared his throat as he twisted an elderly scroll open in his hands; then recited a few paragraphs.

"_...this will mark a very short, but dark time in history; assuming the 'Dragon Warrior' is capable of stopping it. At this point and time, he should have already mastered both his own style, and at least two difficult sub-techniques. Luckily, with each connection, he will be able to master the techniques he had already mastered in past lives. This will evidently occur in far less time; but with far more condensed pain, effort, and agony. The steps in creating a stable link are as follows;_

_1. The link will never be made until the warrior meets, and forms a faithful bond with the love of his life, and his dreams. [further explained in the scroll of inner peace]_

_ -This does not necessarily mean a sexual bond, although it can, it more-so refers to the start of an everlasting relationship."_

With this, Shifu peered up and chuckled to see a very happy looking tiger, who noticed his laughter and resumed her serious gaze.

"_2. This step varies between two possible options;_

_ a. He must endure tremendous emotional suffering for several years, or;_

_ b. He must passionately kiss the one he loves. *If this step is fulfilled, the link will, after the first time, be resistible.*_

_ -Following either of these steps, when the 'Dragon Warrior' attempts to concentrate, his mind will instantly be linked with._

_ -Warning! This connection will be significantly unstable, whereas he has not finished all of the steps necessary to attain a stable link._"

Abruptly, he heard a whimper, then lowered and put away the scroll without finishing at the site of his daughters' now-petrified eyes.

"Y-years of.. E-em-emotional suffering?" she stuttered confusedly, apparently getting caught up on something he'd said about midway through.

Shifu's eyes widened, as he understood what it was she was saying, "Y-you mean you two didn't.." his jaw dropped down bitterly as he started to feel unbelievably displeased with himself. "I-I never thought.." he started as Tigress's daughterly instincts took over, and interrupted him with a much needed knelt hug, as much for herself as it was for him.

He beamed with astonishment for mere milliseconds, as his depression unyielding overwhelmed it. Tigress felt the need to master over him for the instant, and comforted him as best she could. "No one did.. No one could have. He always seemed so...happy." upon saying this, she contemplated every time she'd ever seen him depressed. As she looked over the few occasions, she found they were so small, so meaningless. But after continuing along this correlation, realization sunk deep into her mind. It finally occurred to her that even when he did appear to be happy, there was always something he was masking. It was almost comparable to a lost child who'd stolen from a candy store, but, upon being caught, only gave half of it back. She smiled inwardly at her thought, knowing he'd probably, at one time, done just that.

Shifu, who'd apparently had an alteration of the same thoughts, unwillingly pulled away from her embrace to stare down at the distressful panda. After doing so, something bizarre happened; he moved. Tigress caught the movement from the corner of her eye, and rushed to his side.

"Huh," sighed Shifu, "just a muscle spasm..". They both exhaled bleakly, then knelt by his side for a little over 5 minutes, when Tigress broke the silence.

"It's true.." she finally spilled, with a small amount of weight being lifted off of her shoulders. Shifu glanced over at her, as he noticed her eyes begin to water. "Po and I.. We are lovers. It happened yesterday.. And n-now it-its already ending.." she sobbed, looking for comfort as Shifu gently rested his hand on hers, trying to be a father when she needed it most; she trailed off to confess everything that had happened. After what seemed like an eternity of explaining, she finished, "..and then we slept together at the base of the sacred peach tree.".

Upon hearing this, rage flurried within the fatherly side of Shifu, and brought his blood to a boil as he glared up at her. It only took her seconds to catch on to her poor choice of words; but before she could say anything, Shifu snapped.

"YOU MEAN TO TELL ME THAT BECAUSE OF A SINGLE DAYS' EVENTS, YOU'VE ALLOWED THIS OVERWEIGHT PANDA TO STEAL YOUR PURITY! AND ON TOP OF ALL OF THIS, YOU HAVEN'T EVEN KISSED HIM YET? ARE YOU A TOTAL WHOR-"

"Father!" interrupted Tigress, knowing that if she'd called him by anything else he would not have stopped, "You misunderstand! We only slept in an embrace. We literally 'slept'!" she put extra emphasis on the final word as Shifu's rage escaped him and was replaced with an unrelenting embarrassment.

"Oh.." he cleared his throat, "I see..".

Tigress smiled, forgetting his misled outburst, and hoping for his approval.

"Well.. Seeing as you two are clearly in love.. I give you both my blessings...and my apologies." he finished with a mumble while reddening, "Be sure to tell him when, or if, he awakes.." suddenly there was a hint of sadness in his voice, "It's strange.. Even in the state he's in, he's still managed to make us closer.. You know, we've never truly spoken to one another as father and daughter.." he smiled down at Po with, what appeared to be, admiration spilling from his glimmering irises.

This statement caught Tigress off guard, but she responded happily nonetheless, "..I-I know.. He truly is an amazing man.. And now he's mine." she said happily, momentarily forgetting the situation at hand and who it was she was talking to. She cleared her throat, "So.. uhm, what was it you wanted me to do about a half hour ago?"

Shifu briefly scanned his thoughts, then jumped slightly as he realized what it was, accidentally yelling the start of his request, "I would like for you to sleep here, with Po tonight."

This statement also caught Tigress off guard, as she jumped in the same manner he just had, "Oh..Uhm- O-okay? I mean.. Of course, master." she cleared her head with a shake, "May I ask why?"

Shifu smiled, "Well, although I'm not entirely sure, I believe the lock and heart that arose from Po's chest earlier may have been a symbol, a sign per-say. I believe that there is much you two haven't spoken of, that has left your hearts clustered and confused. I think it would be best if you were as close to him as possible at this time; to, if nothing else, comfort him with your presence."

Tigress blushed even more as she bound her glee within herself and answered stiffly, "Of course, master.".

Shifu nodded, then directed in his usual commanding tone, "Regardless, until sundown, I would request you train with the others.. my skillful student." he complimented with a pause, then breathed in heavily as if contemplating whether or not he should go a step further. Upon seeing Tigress begin to turn toward the door, he shut his eyes and, with a clearing of his throat, let his emotions take control. "..I mean...my utmost..cherished daughter.." he let slip quietly with a hint of happiness and honor, his eyes helplessly filling with water.

Tigress stopped in her tracks, then slowly veered back in disbelief, looking down at the trembling figure before her. Trying to avoid allowing any tears to fall, she bowed with the same water lingering in her eyes, "..Father." she said as she calmly turned, then gained speed toward the training hall.

Shifu watched her leave, along with the first tear he'd cried in several years, as he delightfully shuddered with the few others that followed. He made his way to the sleeping panda, and gently felt his forehead, saying a short prayer before inhaling his pride back to satisfactory, and walking into the luminous outdoors; paying no attention to the invisible eyes that had now centered their beady gaze upon him.

_..C'mon, you know it'd make my day if you hit that review button.. Even if you just wrote a bunch of gibberish.._


	10. First CatFight

**Life's Full Of Surprises.**

**_Please note, future chapters will be written based on reviews!_ THANK YOU ALL FOR READING!**

**Also Kung Fu Panda is owned by Dreamworks, please support the official movies, books, etc.! I DO NOT OWN KUNG FU PANDA!**

_Well, after having uploaded the last chapter, I realized how boring you may have all found it... And so, I rushed to get this out to you, and switched up the writing style a little... I'm not sure which you'd all prefer, but it'd really help if you'd let me know! As you may notice, it's more of an upbeat writing style for a more upbeat scenario.. And it eases down a little toward the end for the less upbeat part.. Regardless, I'd love to hear your thoughts!_

To everyone's surprise, the rest of the day went by rather quickly. The group, although filled with anxiety for Po, trained adamantly for _almost_ the entire evening. Mei Ling showed great skill, although there was a slight 'rustiness' present in her form.. Not quite enough to stop her 'flippy' style from distracting Crane, Mantis, and Monkey though. Tigress and Viper watched the display in disgust, seeing Mei Ling flaunter herself around unintentionally. Tigress growled slightly, as Viper looked up at her, then across the ceiling.

Viper smiled at a thought that crossed her mind as she noticed the three drooling boys were standing directly beneath a weighted punching-bag Crane used to practice air-combat. She gracefully slid her way to Tigress's ear, who's growl faded to a smile that fanned its way across her face. She nodded back at Viper, willing to do anything to distract herself from Po's depressing condition, who then proceeded to put her shrewd plan into effect.

She slid her way over to the weapon rack and, upon seeing that Crane had already used the last of the arrows, weighed a sword with the tip of her tail. Satisfied, she grabbed a bow and made her way back to Tigress. Knowing she herself could never wield them, she handed the items to her.

Tigress grinned, "Out of arrows?"

"Yep.. But this'll do." she smiled as Tigress removed the sword from her tail.

Next, Tigress held her devious smile, then loaded the sword into the bow as if it were just another arrow. After calculating the change in trajectory, Tigress pulled back on the old string. The composite bow flexed slightly to her contentment, as she aimed the tip of the sword slightly above the string holding the punching bag.

The duo laughed maniacally, looking down one last time at the trio beneath the bag. Then, Tigress released her grip. The sword flew through the air with perfect precision, and sliced the string directly down the center, as she knew it would. And then, the bag fell.

It looked as though it were falling in slow motion, Tigress watched the bag, as Viper watched the three boys. Tigress laughed inwardly upon glancing over at Vipers expression; they were ogling the scenario the same way the boys were ogling Mei Ling.

As the guys noticed the absence of light, they peered around, and then up, to see the tremendous bag falling toward them. They all gulped as Mantis yelled "Man overboard!" then hoped off of Crane's hat to avoid being hit. Suddenly, the punching bag made contact with the three.

An explosion of dust and grain-filler outbursted upon the connection. Tigress and Viper found themselves on the floor, clenching to their stomachs with laughter. Mei Ling had stopped training and turned to see the three guys covered in a white powder, a giggle escaped her as the guys tried to piece together what little 'coolness' they had left. Crane looked up to see the sword which stuck in the ceiling, and followed the direction of the handle to the pair which lay upon the ground, hiccuping with laughter.

He grimaced, "..Very mature girls.." he called out to no avail, as they stopped laughing momentarily, looked at him, blinked twice, then laughed even harder. He rolled his eyes to this response, then did his best to wipe himself off. It wasn't long until Mei Ling had run over to meet them, and helped to dust them off. The guys smiled at this, and stuck their tongues out over her shoulder at Tigress and Viper, who scrunched their faces in return.

Viper seemed all-in-all satisfied, as she coiled into a nearby chair, and notioned for Tigress to sit next to her. Tigress smiled, and walked over.

Before she'd even sat down, Viper started an intimate conversation, "So.. How are you holding up?"

Tigress ran a hand over her head then shrugged, "I don't know.. The only person I've ever entrusted my heart to may never speak, open his eyes, or do anything but breathe again.."

Viper thought quickly, then responded, "I'm sure he'll be okay.. You know Po, he couldn't live with himself if he'd ever let us down."

This thought gave Tigress a small grin, as she tried to change the subject, "Yes, I know.. Viper, can we-uhm.. Can we talk about something else?"

"Uhmm.. Okay, what did you want to talk about?"

"I don't know.. Just.. Something to get my mind off of all of this.." Tigress replied, looking aimlessly around the room.

Viper searched her thoughts, and improvised a question, "Well, did you tell Shifu about you and Po yet?" following this, she drew her eyes tightly shut, 'Something _not_ about Po!' she thought, realizing her ignorance.

"Well.. Yes, but this subject isn't much better.." responded a dazed Tigress, trying not to think as she spoke.

Viper blushed, "Oh, well.. Hmm.. By the way, we're going to have to speak about all of this later.." Tigress smiled as Viper continued rambling, trying to find something totally unrelated to Po. "Well I heard that the 'Dragon War-'.. hmm... Uhm, There's a new noodle sho- Uhmm" she grumbled through her lost words,

"Viper, do you maybe just want to talk a little about _yourself _for a change?" asked Tigress, happy to remove the attention from her own being.

Viper smiled, "I'd love to.. But maybe somewhere a little more private.. Later on, perhaps." suddenly she felt a strong happiness arise, and locked eyes with Mantis. Following a multiple-second staring contest, the two pulled their gazes away from one another, pretending as though it meant nothing. Tigress chuckled at what she had seen, as Viper blushed, facing the floor.

"I guess.. For now, we'd better get back to training then." said Tigress, standing from her chair, as Viper nodded and slithered from her own.

The rest of the evening flew by even more quickly, as it blended as usual in a flurry of punches, kicks, pain, and accomplishment. Soon, the sun fell from the Valley's view, and 6 sweaty Masters left the training hall. They mingled with one another, as Mei Ling 'accidentally' flirted with all of the boys, and Viper and Tigress took the opportunity to walk ahead. Once they reached eye-view of the bathing area, Viper called out,

"Girls get to wash up first!" laughing as she and Tigress heard a few angry groans, and quickly made their way to the room at the end of the hall.

After entering, and closing the door behind them, they lit a few of the many lanterns scattered around the premises. A vague shadow of Viper relaxing in the tub, and Tigress stripping off her clothes could be seen as the three guys, and Mei Ling walked into the sleeping barracks. The entire group blushed at the sight, as Mei Ling averted her eyes. She looked down at the gawking men around her in objection and yelled, "Come on guys, nothing to see here!" to which she received several 'shushes', and a single figure jumping and covering up while moving into the shadowed area of the bathing room.

She grimaced as they all gave her a look that said 'Come on!' and rolled their eyes, making their way to their sleeping quarters.

Inside the bathing room, Tigress and Viper had just fed the lava-powered water heater some soap, and the bubbles were swishing in rapidly. Tigress started the conversation after sneakily making her way into the springs.

"So.. What was it you wanted to talk about..?" she asked intently, when her ear twitched at the sound of footsteps approaching their room. Viper kept her mouth clutched, as it came closer. The sound of the footsteps creaking upon the wooden floorboards, making its way toward their 'nude' bodies, was almost terrifying. There was nothing they could do.. "Monkey..?" called Tigress, with no response.

Suddenly, a hand made its way to the sliding door, and pulled it open slowly. Tigress let out a sigh of relief after covering herself in bubbles, and seeing Mei Ling's head poke in.

"Hey girls!" she yelled slightly too loud, "Mind if I join you?" she asked with a giggle.

Tigress and Viper's gazes caught each other, as they both shrugged. "Sure," responded Tigress, almost sarcastically. Viper let out a sigh, wanting so badly to have gotten to speak about herself for a change.

Mei Ling's ears straitened at the sound, as she stated in a depressed tone, "I don't have to stay if you two don't want me.."

Viper's eyes widened, feeling terrible for the misunderstanding, "No! No, that's not it-" she spat quickly, "We-we'd love it if you joined us." to this, Mei Ling's ears settled, and she smiled at her kindness.

"Phew.. I was starting to think you two didn't like me.." she said, untying her expensive-looking shirt. Tigress looked up at her, then looked away coldly; Viper simply nodded in an accepting fashion, trying not to give her any hints. After removing her shirt, and placing it on a nearby rock, she shimmied out of her pants, and underwear. Then, finally, unclasped her bra, fully revealing her breathtaking body. Viper couldn't help but drop her jaw, as she stared in admiration. Tigress, who'd been shutting her eyes and trying to ignore Mei Ling's presence, squinted one open enough to catch Viper's ogling. She followed her gaze over to Mei Ling, then quickly shut her eye, feeling even more jealousy-induced resentment than before toward the overly-gorgeous cat.

Mei Ling noticed Viper, and covered herself with an arm, "Oh! Sorry.." she said earnestly, blushing slightly with another giggle.

'As if I haven't heard _that _annoying laugh enough times already..' thought Tigress, beginning to feel absolute hatred toward the woman she was about to bathe with; the mere thought was making her irritated. As she continued to think of the many other things that bothered her about the peculiar mountain cat, she felt the water raise slightly, and opened her eyes to see that Mei Ling had slid in between her and Viper.

There soon resonated an uncomfortable silence within the room, as Mei Ling spoke in an obnoxious tone, causing Tigress to jump slightly out of the water, "So what do you guys do for fun around here?"

Viper looked at her, "Well, hmm.. There isn't much we do around here.. Mostly train, I guess; but only Tigress really finds _that _fun." she said mockingly, trying to ease her into the conversation. "We mostly get our fun out of our days off, when we get to visit the village."

Mei Ling nodded, then turned her attention toward Tigress, "So.. About this whole Po thing.." she teased as Tigress's eyes opened and stared her down intimidatingly, which she waved off without thinking, "..who's the lucky lady who_ he_ fell for?" she asked with another giggle.

"Me." responded Tigress in an unamused tone.

Mei Ling looked at her, eyed her for a minute, then continued, "..You don't seem all that happy.."

With this, Tigress snapped, as she'd been waiting to do all along. "You know what? I've had about enough of you judging me. (she blushed ironically at this statement, but neither of the girls noticed) You know nothing about me! Just because Po may never wake up again, and you're ready to be all 'giggly' and 'happy' about it, doesn't mean I have to be! Now would you just do me a favor, and keep away from me! And him for that matter. If you ever lay another hand on him -even if it's to help him with your little 'massaging every part of his body ceremony'- I will personally break your hands with your own 'pretty-little' face, got it?" she breathed through clenched teeth as she got out of the water, not even bothering to cover herself shyly, as she did in front of everyone except her sister, Viper, and stormed out of the room; stomping over to her own.

Suddenly, the color was no longer present in Mei Ling's cheeks. She stared straight forward, as she did when her practice didn't work on Po, and didn't say a word. After a few minutes of this, Viper spoke up.

"Mei Ling.. You-You shouldn't take what Tigress said personally.. She's just.. Going through a tough time right now. I could explain the situation in more detail later; but, for now, let's just forget about all of this and sleep it off, okay?" she said, trying to sound as supportive as she could.

"O-Okay.." said Mei Ling, as she continued to stare into the slowly popping bubbles in the water before her.

Viper slithered out of the water, and made her way to Tigress's room; but as she reached it, the door flung open.

"Move." said Tigress angrily, with her bed sheets and pillow folded neatly under her arm.

"Tigress.. I don't want you to freak out.. Whatever you're thinking about doing.. If it's strangling Mei Ling with those sheets, I'd think twice.. Think about the consequences..."

Tigress glared down at her, causing her to flinch, "I'm sleeping with Po in the 'Hall Of Warriors' tonight, as per Shifu's request."

Viper looked relieved as she settled down slightly, and nodded in return. A yawn escaped her, and she smiled, then responded, "Alright.. Just as long as you don't kill anyone tonight... Goodnight, sister."

Tigress settled down a little as well, as she walked past Viper toward her destination, "Goodnight."

After they'd both left, Mei Ling soon stumbled out of the springs and made her way, completely naked, to her room; still not thinking clearly. She walked past Po's room and onward to Crane's, who looked up from his book, and fainted at the sight of her.

"Mei Lin-!" he barely managed to screech before falling on his back.

This finally broke her from her daze, as she glanced down at the seemingly-dead bird, of whom she loved so dearly. She laughed, then made her way to his side, as quietly as possible, and propped him up onto his feet as he usually slept. She kissed his forehead, and blushed, "Maybe someday.." she whispered, after blowing out the lantern by his side, and creeping back to Po-or _her_ room... Oddly enough, _not_ noticing the invisible set of eyes that, having already moved on from Shifu; analized the event, and thought '_well.. isn't that interesting.._'.

_Well.. There you have it... Who is watching the distressful group? I dno. Well actually I do, but I'm not telling. Hehehe, please review._


	11. Chi Power

**Life's Full Of Surprises.**

**_Please note, future chapters will be written based on reviews!_ THANK YOU ALL FOR READING!**

**Also Kung Fu Panda is owned by Dreamworks, please support the official movies, books, etc.! I DO NOT OWN KUNG FU PANDA!**

_..Here we go! A bit more interesting again! I'm quite happy with this chapter, and am beginning to find that the story is becoming easier to write, haha. In this chapter I think you'll find the writing style a little different once again.. But I think it's for the better; because, to be honest, the other writing style was becoming exhausting. Furthermore, this style seems to give me more opportunities to add a little bit of 'fun'! Please review to tell me what you think; I would gladly switch back to the other style if you all notice a big enough difference!_

The door remained open to allow only a shadow of the remaining glimmer of the sun. Luckily, it was all but not enough. An upset Tiger could be seen making a bed next to a rested-looking panda. She peered down worriedly at him, but smiled at the site of his grin.

'_At least someone's happy.._' she thought with a roll of her eyes; then plopped down next to him, and lent up on her forearm. She watched him for a few minutes, wondering what was going through his mind. '_Hopefully not as much as what's going through mine.._' she knew she had to calm herself, or she wouldn't sleep at all. So she sat up in lotus position, as her outer wrists met her knees, and she forced a smile to cover her face. She breathed in and out slowly through her nose; and cleared her mind. After a few moments of this, she grew weary, and bowed her way out of meditation.

She next found herself laid across her make-shift bed, with a smile on her face; totally forgetting the disaster next to herself... When suddenly... '_Tigress!_' she heard a familiar voice whisper, yet echo, and tried to ignore the sound. '_Tigress!_' she heard again with a friendly shake of her body. She opened her eyes to see Po staring down at her. It was dark.. But he seemed to be easily visible. She raised a paw to her eyes and wiped them in disbelief; then shuddered to see the image still remained in front of her.

'_You're a hard person to get a hold of.._' she heard Po say without moving his lips.

'_You're one to talk.._' she thought, but was surprised to see Po laugh at her comment. '_wait.. how..?_'

'_I'm in your thoughts, Tigress._'

'_Wait, what? How?_'

'_Well.. Apparently it's a skill I mastered in a past life.. I'm not sure why or how, but as long as I stay asleep like this, I keep all of my skills from past lives.. Wait, you're probably pretty confused.. I'll explain it from what I can understand. To the best of my knowledge, the 'Dragon Warrior' is chosen every 1 000 years. But a soul is very difficult to track from one generation to the next; even if it does radiate the kind of power mine does.. Regardless, my soul is a very, very elder one, as is yours, but- the difference is, mine only comes back every 1000 years. Yours, on the other hand, will return every 150-200 years. Anyway, whenever mine comes back, it seems to get put in a new body.. and, just like everyone else, I lose all of my past skills, knowledge, and memories. But since I am considered to be the Earths 'Guardian', the 'gods' decided to allow me to link with my past self to regain my skills and knowledge, sadly, I will never regain my memories... Too bad, I would've really liked to have known if I was a dinosaur before._'

Tigress, being flustered with the information he'd just shared with her, couldn't hold in her thoughts any longer. '_Wowowow.. Who told you all of this..?_'

Po grimaced, and brought his thumb to his chest, '_I did, of course._'

Tigress stared momentarily, then understood, '_Ohh! You've regained your past knowledge... I see._'

'_Yeah, but that's not the coolest part! Watch this!_' following this statement, he brought his hands open by his sides, facing forward, and chanted a couple of words, '_Ugnasa, aleim!_' he yelled, as his hands glowed a bright blue, and ignited into two swirling balls of sapphire flame. Tigress's eyes widened to the point that they resembled soccer balls, as her jaw dropped. He then shook the flame out of his left hand, and gripped his right wrist out in front of him; taking aim. Suddenly, a few dummies appeared off in the distance. He squinted slightly, and separated his fingers to peer through as a means of getting better accuracy. Then rapidly shot off five fireballs, which arked their way to the targets, and fully ignited and destroyed each one.

'_PRETTY AWESOME, DON'T YOU THINK!_'

Tigress stood in awe, then walked next to him. He stared back cockily, grinning at his own 'awesomeness', not expecting what was about to occur.

Suddenly, a paw found its way to his cheek, and struck him with all of its might, '_THIS is what you've been doing while we've been worried sick about you! While we've been crying, trembling, and training to an extent beyond belief; you've been playing with fire?_'

Po looked saddened, and looked toward the ground. '_Welitsnottalivebendoing.._' he mumbled through a closed mouth, as her eyes fixated on him.

'_What?_'

He jumped slightly at her response, '_I uhm.. I said.. It's not all i've been doing.._'

To this, Tigress couldn't help but scowl, '_Then what, what have you been doing!_'

'_I've uhm.. I've been being a super-spy._'

She stared at him, '_A super spy?_' she brought a hand to her face, and brushed it down; trying to settle her nerves. Then replied in a calmer voice, '_What do you mean, super spy?_'

Po looked up, and finally stopped his grumbling, '_Well here! I'll show you!_' he yelled then offered his paw. She looked skeptical for only a moment, then he interrupted, '_You do trust me, don't you?_'

Their eyes inevitably met, as she squinted.. '_Yes, Po. I trust you._' she grasped his hand tightly, as a portal appeared beneath them, lighting the absolute darkness, and he pulled her in.

'_PO WHAT ARE YOU DOING!_' she yelled as they fell from what seemed like 50 stories.

Po laughed, and proceeded to do flips as they fell endlessly, '_C'mon Ti! Loosen up!_' she shot him a glare, which he pretended not to notice.

Suddenly, they were only 10 feet from the ground, and Tigress couldn't keep her thoughts from screaming any more. From what she could see, it was impossible to survive. '_AAAHHHHHHHHH!_' she let loose, curling into a ball with a closing of her eyes. A few more seconds passed, as she opened them to see the ground of the arena of the Jade Palace, just inches beneath her; she hovered for a couple more seconds, then fell to her knees.

'_YOU COULD'VE TOLD ME THAT WAS GOING TO HAPPEN!_' she mentally screamed at the panda who stood, completely relaxed, next to her.

He shrugged it off, then said, '_C'mon!_' and ran toward the barracks.

She remained on her hands and knees for about another minute, before taking in the fact that she was still alive. She praised the ground momentarily, until she heard the somewhat-irritating panda interrupt, '_Ahem.._'. She reddened as she peered up to meet his smiling gaze, and he signaled for her to approach.

She squinted and growled at him jokingly, then stepped to her feet towards him, feeling very weak. They walked toward the barracks in the moonlight, hand in hand, as he led her onward. '_What's going on..?_' she finally worked up the integrity to ask, as Po looked over at her.

"_Oh.. I haven't finished explaining yet, have I? Well, this is the 'Dream World' per-say.. It's actually like a portal to another dimension linked to our own._' she stared blankly at him, to which he laughed, '_I didn't get it either when my 'past self' explained it that way.. Basically, we can travel around our own world using our 'chi power', and be invisible to others while we sleep.. But we have to be careful, because other people can also meet up with us in this world, and our souls are still capable of killing one-another.. Leaving our bodies 'lifeless' so-to-speak..._'

He pause to think of the horror of having that happen, then pulled from the thought. '_Anyway, this, and many other things can be done using our 'chi power'.. Sadly, it's almost become extinct in our modern-day society._' he sounded as though he was quoting someone else, which, in a way, he was. '_Anyway, are you in the mood for some spying?_'

Tigress blinked, '_Uhmm.. I guess I'm in as much of a mood as I'll ever be.. But wait, just to clear things up.. You're saying that people who are awake cannot see or harm us, but we can see them; and people who are in this 'Dream World' can both see and harm us?_'

He nodded and pulled her onward, once again, trying to shake the thought. They reached an empty, and seemingly pointless resting hallway, to which Tigress rolled her eyes, thinking he was lost. '_Po, there's nothing down he-_' she started as Po floated through the wall in front of them. They found themselves in a room that Tigress was surprised to have never seen before. '_Where are we..?_' she asked intently, peering around the room.

The area was oddly well-lit for the time of night; being illuminated by a stream of lava that flowed along the top of the hexagonal rooms walls. Each wall was either lined with books, scrolls, or a combination of the two; but they appeared to be well-organized.. Apart from the odd sheet of paper that was harshly crammed onto the shelf, or barely hanging from it in the slightest. All-in-all, it had a very warm feel, as everything was either glowing red, or made of pure mahogany.

Po smiled, '_Master Oogways' secret scroll room. I'm pretty sure Master Shifu doesn't even know about this.. There's actually a secret lever or something to open the wall that we floated through, but as I was spying earlier, I ran from-_' suddenly it occurred to him that he'd been running from a naked Mei Ling, and he blushed, which Tigress noticed during his pause, '_I uhm- I ran from something, I forget, and, well.. anyway, I tripped and fell through that wall.. Funny how things work out sometimes, eh?_'

Tigress, having seen this all as an intrusion of privacy, couldn't help her womanly instincts that told her this was wrong.. '_Po, you haven't read any of the scrolls yet, have you?_' Po reddened, '_You have..?_' she asked disappointedly.

'_Well, uhm- not exactly.. You see, we can't actually touch or move anything.. We're kind of just ghosts.. Ghosts that can't travel more than a certain distance from their actually bodies, depending on their 'chi power'.._'

Tigress smiled, '_Good._' she stated, proud that Po hadn't read anything.

'_Actually.. Uhm, Tigress.._' Po started nervously.

'_What?_'

'_I uhm.. I might have kind of read that open one on the table.._' he pointed toward a table in the center of the room; presumably were Oogway had written most of the thousands of scrolls that surrounded them.

'_Well.. Did it say anything important..?_' she asked, intent on finding out.

'_Uhm.. Sort of. It has to do with you; actually.._'

Tigress's eyes widened, her curiosity peeked. '_What do you mean.. It's about me?_'

'_Well.. Why don't you just look?_' she looked at him reluctantly, as he nudged her onward. '_If it helps; I'm pretty sure he wanted you to read it.._' with this, she sighed. She'd always known Oogway to be wise, and if he'd wanted her to read the scroll, then that was exactly what she was going to do.

'_Fine._' she slowly made her way to the table, feeling the suspense overwhelm her, but not wanting to seem too eager. Once she reached the table, she saw several scrolls, but only one laid out that was written on. It wasn't the usual structure of one of Master Oogway's scrolls, it looked more as though it were a letter. She gripped it in her paws, and read it in her mind; which, of course, was aloud.

'_Good evening Tigress,_

_Or should I say good night?_' the first line, and already she was trembling. She looked up to Po, who, having already read it, smiled and motioned for her to continue. She smiled back, stopped shaking slightly, and looked back down to the scroll.

'_If my calculations were correct, by the time you read this, you and the 'Dragon Warrior', of whom I shall just be naming today, should have just embarked on your third quest. As you know, I have been alive for nearly 1 000 years.. Sadly, I can feel my time running short. I shall most likely be dead by the time you receive this, and will not reincarnate as the 'Dragon Warrior' has, whereas I cannot afford to lose my vast knowledge.. Not in a time this crucial.. I fear this millenniums 'Dragon Warrior' may face a threat far greater than he has had to in the past.. Instead, I will work on forming a stable connection through the 'link' now present the 'Warriors' mind. It will no doubt be tricky, but I will not rest until I manage.. I tell you of all of this in confidence, knowing you are the only one devoted enough to tell.. Well, excluding the 'Dragon Warrior' of course.. I will warn you of something though; be weary of those who you come to trust. I fe-_'

She almost finished the entry when she fell to one knee, clenching her stomach. 'What the-' she thought as she glared about, then back at the floor, and coughed up a handful of blood. Abruptly, her vision blurred, as her eyes were forced shut, and everything went black..

_Please review! Would love to hear from ALL of you! :)_

_Also, if you notice any '...' that aren't italicized, please PM or review about it, it would be greatly appreciated. (I accidentally removed the italics, and had to go through it all again, and am still not sure that I got them all..)_


	12. Rude Awakening

**Life's Full Of Surprises.**

**_Please note, future chapters will be written based on reviews!_ THANK YOU ALL FOR READING!**

**Also Kung Fu Panda is owned by Dreamworks, please support the official movies, books, etc.! I DO NOT OWN KUNG FU PANDA!**

_Ahh.. I know what you're all thinking, 'you've been on the ball lately with these updates..'. And yes, yes I have. (Sorry, I had to get some pride into one of these entries..) Anyways, I loved the way this chapter turned out; and hope you do too! Please review to let me know!_

"Tigress!" she heard a worried Po yell _aloud_.

Suddenly, she opened her eyes to the feeling of Po's hand on her shoulder; in a daze as she blinked her vision back to clarity. '_Wh-what's..?_' she started to think as the double-image in front of her formed into one. She could now see a glowing green light coming from Po's left hand; the one rested on her shoulder. She glanced up to see the room deteriorating and falling apart at the seams. She could see that Po was wielding a gigantic boulder above his head; presumably one that was about to hit her.

'_Wha-What's g-going on..?_' she summoned the energy to think. Po continued on, striking and throwing every block that fell toward them.

'_Yo-your chi.. It's completely depleted... I'm transferring some of my own into you now.. But-uhm.._' he stopped momentarily, feeling a break in the transfer of chi, then shook it off. '-_it-uhm, it won't last long; not after what you just went through.._'

'_I-Is this all actually happening?_' she struggled to let out.

'_No. This is your mind, remember? Don't worry, it's not actually falling apart.. It's just 'crashing'.. You hardly have enough chi left to keep yourself intact. Within a few minutes, we'll have been caught in the ruble of this universe; and trust me, we don't want that._'

'_Wh-why? What will happe-'_

'_Tigress! We'll both be killed.._' he interrupted, while punching what must've been a 300 pound boulder into nothing but rubble.

Finally, she clicked into what was happening.

With this, she jumped to her feet, as his hand fell off of her shoulder. He tried to reach her again, but she stopped him before replacing it, '_Don't worry about it- Let's just get out of here!_'

He winced, and nodded, '_Alright, alright.. Settle down. Follow me._'. Saying this, he dashed through a nearby wall, and, to her surprise, actually _broke_ through it, into the overly-bright outdoors. She followed him as quickly as she could, feeling more exhausted than she had ever before. Upon passing through the hole, and adjusting her eyes to the white-light above her, she heard him call again. '_C'mon, let's go!_' she glanced down to the grass in front of her, as he curled his fingers in her direction and she started to run, trying not to show her exhaustion.

The next she saw of him, was standing still in the arena, as he continued to lure her in; when abruptly, she fell. As she hit the ground, an explosion could be heard in the palace behind her, and a low rumble traveled through the shuddering air.. as the palace started to tip in their direction. Po stared down at her in shock.. having never seen her fall before. Suddenly, he snapped back into the moment, and made _wise_ moves based off of pure instinct.

He started by slamming a palm at the center of the arena, '_Ignasia alemag_!', could be heard, as a black portal opened beneath him. He clumsily hoped to the side, then looked over to see that Tigress still hadn't gotten up. A boulder fell to her side as another explosion was heard, Po's gaze found its way to the palace, as his face went blank. It seemed the last explosion was enough to throw the palace completely off balance; and it was falling toward them-FAST.

He dashed to her side, as she coughed more blood into the grass, grabbing her stomach in pain. Unsure of what to do, he threw her arm over his shoulder, and nudged his way toward the now-closing portal. As Tigress stepped, she stubbed her toe on a large rock, and yet another explosion was heard; along with an unfamiliar creaking sound. Po glanced over his shoulder one final time, and panicked at the site. The palace was only about 20 feet from their heads.. And they were about 25 feet from the portal.

He walked faster, trying to reach the portal in time, and seeing Tigress quickly beginning to fade. But as he looked over at her, he felt time begin to slow, she coughed another two handfuls of blood, and the residue stained her cheeks. He felt a tears well in his eyes, as he fixated them on the blurred portal in the ground. After rapidly lifting his forearm to wipe his eyes, he tensed up, and focused his energy around the hole. They stopped dead, the palace continuing to barrel down toward them.

He shut his eyes, and summoned up the last of his chi, feeling a heated sensation around him. He kept his eyes shut and continued to concentrate, not even breaking it with the feeling of the palace balcony lightly gracing the fur on his head. At this time, they disappeared, and reappeared above the half-sized portal, being forced into it by the rubbled palace that came crashing down.

*****Meanwhile*****

Shifu was fast asleep. Well, not asleep, but in a deep meditation; preying for Po. Suddenly, his focus was broken, with a familiar voice's scream.

"Tigress!"

His eyes shot open, as he immediately dashed toward his door, and down the hall; recognizing Po's voice.

Upon reaching the still-open doors of the 'Hall of Warriors', he saw two trembling figures lying in the center of the room. He rushed to his daughters side, as he tried to grasp her paw, but upon touching it, received a tremendous shock. '_What just..?_' he thought, as he peered down at his hand. It glowed a bright shade of green for a second then faded, as his eyes squinted upon his pupils. '...Pure chi..' he observed in disbelief '..Tigress must be in trouble..'.

Knowing the most he could do was sit and watch the events unfold, he sprinted to the kitchen to prepare some 'special' green tea. He slammed the doors open, paying no attention the the amount of noise he was making. Soon, a few misty-eyed students came walking down the hall, particularly Mantis, Viper, and Crane. They tiredly watched him run frantically around the kitchen. He slammed cupboards and drawers, and clashed plates and glasses; rushing to prepare the tea in time.

Soon, Viper yawned, "What are you..?" she tried to interrogate as he flew by her. Suddenly, she realized where he was going, and darted her eyes open. "Po!" she called out, alerting the students around her, who looked at each other, then simultaneously awoke from their dazes. Crane and Viper immediately followed Master Shifu's tracks, while Mantis ran to the other's barracks.

After tearing open Monkey's room, he called, "MONKEY, GET UP, SOMETHING'S GOING ON WITH PO!" to which an _initially bewildered_ Monkey jumped to his feet, and ran with his arms flailing over his head toward the 'Hall of Warriors'. Mantis grinned, satisfied, then rushed to Mei Ling's room; not even thinking to knock.

After opening her door, an "Aww.." escaped him at the site of her snuggling a teddy bear, and sucking her thumb. He watched her for a second, then snapped out of his adoring stare. "Oh, Uhmm- Mei Ling!" he said in a loud whisper, which was well past enough to awaken her acute sense of hearing.

She yawned, "Wha-what..?" she asked while sitting up and stretching her arms overhead.

"It's Po. I think he's waking up!"

She jumped to her feet with the news, not realizing that all she was wearing were her undergarments, until she noticed Mantis's blushing smile. "Oh, Whoops!" she called while pulling a robe over herself.

"Whatever! Let's just go!" he yelled, already missing the site he'd just witnessed.

"Oh yeah, of course!" she giggled.

As they ran through the doors of the 'Hall of Warriors', they found a group crowding a safe distance around the still passed-out couple. No one said a word as they stared down at them. An occasional flinch was received from the two, that was exaggerated ten times over by the jumpy group around them, but nothing quite enough to arise any suspicion of their upcoming awakening.

Finally, Viper broke the silence, "What's going on Shifu?"

He looked over to her, but before he could answer, the couple both jumped to a seated position, as Tigress inhaled a deep, petrified breath of air. Her eyes were wide as Po struggled to place a paw upon her back in his exhaustion, then tried to comfort her.

It took them both a moment to realize their shocked audience; and it took the audience even longer to grasp the fact that they'd finally awoken.

"Po!" called out Mantis, as he jumped to his chest, causing him to fall to the floor. "Did I put on weight, or..?" he asked sarcastically.

The rest of the group laughed, and all but Mei Ling hugged the duo. It took Po a second to realize she was even there, and, although as far as she knew they had never met; he called, "Mei Ling!". Then reeled her in with a paw. She quickly looked over at Tigress, and to her delight, she nodded in approval. As she hugged the two warriors, she avoided actually touching Po by putting Crane between them; much to Tigress's contentment.

After the group redispersed, Shifu's eyes quickly examined Tigress, trying to find any problems; and he noticed one. "Tigress.. Your mouth.. Is that blood?"

Everyone glanced over at her, and were shocked to see what Shifu was referring to. There was a small droplet dripping from the corner of her mouth, but she wiped it without a second thought, "That's.. That's nothing."

Shifu glared at her briefly, but trusted her judgement. "Alright, as long as you're sure you're okay." he shot her a smile, as everyone else stared momentarily, then smiled as well. "A-anyway, you two are probably exhausted." he said while handing them the tea, then directing his attention toward Tigress. "Drink this, it'll help.. But your chi levels have reached an unbelievably low point. Usually the body would not have allowed this to happen. You should have been feeling exhausted a while before this time, and your thoughts should have fallen apart slowly.. Alas, with your training, I fear your body may have adjusted to depleting all of your energy before feeling any or most signs of exhaustion.."

With this, he veered toward Po, "You; on the other hand.. I've always sensed unusually high amounts of chi radiating from you. But now.. now I feel close to nothing. I know you were transferring some to Tigress, but it's impossible that you could have transferred _that_ much chi in the amount of time you would've had.. What happened?"

At first, Po had forgotten his teleporting, as he thought back to the cloudy events that had just occurred. Then, with a snap of his fingers, he realized, "Oh! I teleported! Which is kind of weird considering I had no idea that I could.."

Shifu's eyes widened at this, as he glared toward Tigress, "Is this true..?"

She struggled to find the energy to respond, after sipping her tea, "Y-yes.. I-I think so..."

He stood, aghast. "Po.. How.. How did you do it?"

He shrugged, "I dunno.. just kind of did.."

Shifu looked disappointing, "Do you remember anything?"

"I uhm.. I remember closing my eyes.. Holding still.. And envisioning the portal, my destination, in my mind... Then, the next thing I knew, I was there.."

Shifu stared him down with his mouth open, and eyes wide. "Do you realize what this means..?"

Po shrugged again, "Not really.. It's just a technique from a past life isn't it..?"

"No Po.." he shook his head and rubbed his eyes with his right hand. "It's far more than that.." he lowered his hand, and opened his eyes. "You've managed to perform a technique that no one has performed for over 10 000 years. It was thought to have become impossible.. It was stuff of legends. Much like yourself." Po smiled, with a twinkle in his eyes. "Aside from that.. We are extremely pressed for time. We have about four more days-tops."

Po interrupted, "Wowowow, four? I thought we still had six."

"Yes, but it's at least a two-day trip to the forbidden palace. Which is the emperors residence, and the tournaments location."

The group nodded, and Po yelled, "Then let's get to work!" as he hoped to his feet, then fell to one knee.

"Actually, Po.. The sun hasn't even risen yet.. It's only about mid-way through the night. And I'm also pretty sure you and Tigress are in no condition to train.." said Viper, through a courteous smile.

"Oh.." said Po.

"She's right Po.. About everything." mentioned Shifu, grinning. "Mainly that you two, above-all, need a very restful sleep. I shall let you sleep in, but we have work to do; so I'll be waking you both before noon." Shifu turned to walk away, then stopped to say, "Oh, and one more thing.. Mei Ling's sleeping in your room. So you'll have to stay here."

Po gave a look of disappointment to Mei Ling, who simply smiled in return. "Alright, alright.. I'll stay here."

"Good. As for the rest of you, back to your sleeping quarters." said Shifu, as the group turned, acknowledging his request.

"Actually.. Master, I am quite exhausted, and was wondering if I could remain here, with Po.." said Tigress, blushing at the site of the grinning students that had re-turned to listen to her.

"Well I could have someone carry you bac-" Shifu started as he noticed her blush, "Oh, I see.. Well, seeing as you're exhausted, okay. You may remain here with Po." he said in a kind fatherly tone, that quickly changed to an equally-fatherly, stern one. "BUT- No 'funny business'."

Suddenly, Tigress's white fur turned pink, "Of-of course, master." she finished with a bow.

Shifu grinned, then walked his way by his group of students, which smiled at the couple, then followed.

After a few moments, they were finally alone.

"P-Po..." she paused to think of her the question most important to her, "Uhmm...what did the rest of the scroll say..?" she whispered as an arm folded around her, and pulled her close. She blushed as he started to snore. He'd already fallen asleep.

_Well, there it is. I would absolutely love to hear what you all think. Good or bad. :) So as I always request, PLEASE REVIEW!_


	13. Girl Troubles

**Life's Full Of Surprises.**

**_Please note, future chapters will be written based on reviews!_ THANK YOU ALL FOR READING!**

**Also Kung Fu Panda is owned by Dreamworks, please support the official movies, books, etc.! I DO NOT OWN KUNG FU PANDA!**

_Here we are! Chapter 13. Kind of tricky, and less intense than the last, but it's more for character building. I know, I know, "C'mon man, wtf? Character building?" but it has to be done. In the end, this chapter aids the story a lot. Also, it's more of a happy chapter to offer a break in the action from the last one; trust me, even Shakespeare did it. ;) Well.. I guess i'll let you all get to the story, but not before I say, as always, PLEASE REVIEW! _

_One last thing, this chapter's like 3698 words long, hence the couple days I took to write it. So you owe me a review. ;)_

As morning finally came to the valley of peace, a flock of birds could be heard chirping their oh-so-familiar song. They danced and played through the air, fluttering and spiraling around each other. When suddenly, a gong vibrated to life; being struck by an elder red panda. The birds tweeted a final time in harmony, as they instantly scrambled apart into a nearby forest.

Meanwhile, a young group of four warriors had assembled at the foot of their dorms. Soon, the elder red panda came strolling around. He fixated his eyes on Po's room, as he'd become accustomed to doing; having him sleep in so oftenly.. Moments after, a mountain cat walked out to the middle of the hall, rubbing her eyes.

"Ahhh.." she yawned, then blinked, as her fellow pupils stared at her. She giggled, "What..?" then realized the routine she was expected to follow, and jumped to her door, standing straight and tall.

Shifu smiled, "Okay, we shall begin this day as usual.. Now get to your morning chores."

Having this said, four of the five students sprung into action, and ran down the hall, separating in unison as they hurried to quickly get their chores out of the way.

Mei Ling stood still, as Shifu gazed at her. It would seem he'd reached an epiphany as he awoke that morning, "Uhmm.. Mei Ling.. Have you any idea how to cook..?" he asked in a hopeful tone.

"Me?" she blushed, "I-Uhm.. Yeah... Well sorta... Not really... No.".

Shifu grimaced, "Ahhh... we fired our chef after the 'Dragon Warrior' was admitted into the palace.."

She stared, understanding, but flustered. "Uhm.. What do we do..?"

"We-Uhm... I don't know." he hadn't realized how accustomed they'd become to Po's reliability. "I figured we'd at least make it past breakfast without him.." he stared forward blankly, gripping Oogways' staff in his paw. "Well, let's go _try _and make breakfast." he muttered. He then turned and headed toward the dining room, as Mei Ling skipped behind him.

Upon reaching the kitchen, they heard a small noise come from the corner cupboard. Seconds later, Mantis peaked out from behind an _unsuspicious_ jar of almond cookies-monkeys secret ones. "Oh! Thank god it's just you guys.. I was starting to think it was.." suddenly Monkey stumbled through the door, "Ah! Monkey!". Hearing his name, Monkey peered up in the direction the sound came from; then saw Mantis' pincer, quivering behind his cookie jar. It was no secret how protective Monkey was of his almond cookies; the ingredients were harvested from only the most sacred fields and farmlands. And so, he prepared to attack, his usual defense when people tried to take his legendary homemade snacks, but Shifu had stepped between them.

"Mantis.. What are you doing here..?" asked the red panda.

Mantis peered down from behind the cookies, seeing a cross-armed Monkey staring back, and Shifu as well. "W-Well I was-s.. Uhmm.." he stuttered, then fell apart, "I COULDN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE! I WAS UP HALF THE NIGHT! HOW ARE WE GONNA EAT? PO'S NOT HERE!".

Shifu stared emotionless, "Mantis. You're over reacting."

"NO I'M NOT! YOU KNOW HOW LONG IT'S BEEN SINCE I LAST MISSED BREAKFAST? FOREVER! I HAVE NEVER, EVER MISSED BREAKFAST!" after saying this, he heard Mei Ling's signature giggle, and looked down, only now realizing she was there. Abruptly, he pulled himself together. "I mean-uhm.. I mean sheesh, I don't need breakfast. Pfft- breakfast is for wussies, and I'm no wuss." he muttered, stepping into view, and slightly puffing out his chest.

Monkey's angered look turned to a feint smirk, as he broke into a laugh. "Ha-alright Mantis, whatever you say." he mocked with a roll of his eyes. Mantis soon hopped down from the cupboard, with tiny crumbs on his cheeks, as he joined the group beneath him.

Finally, Shifu devised a plan. "Alright, we're going to wait here until the others arrive." he said, seating himself in a nearby chair. The three students shrugged, and silently did the same.

After a few minutes, Viper slithered in, singing a song she'd heard in the village a few days before. "_And I_- Oh, hi guys." she blushed, "What's going on?"

"We're waiting for the others," Mantis said, motioning for her to take a seat next to him. "Don't worry- Shifu has a plan." She looked at him confusedly for a second, then smiled and snaked her way next to him.

Seconds after this, Crane soared into the kitchen, as Shifu eye'd him ferociously, "Crane! No flying indoors!"

Crane looked startled, "Oh, Master Shifu.. Didn't-uhh.. Didn't see you there..". After Crane waltzed in and sat next to Mei Ling, Shifu shared his plan.

"Alright students.. I know it seems we're faced with a challenge far greater than any we've ever faced before...cooking." he grinned, and sniffed inwardly through his nose, "But this does not mean we should give up! We must work together, and form a team capable of standing up to such a task." he stood, and started pacing throughout the room, as his students watched him with inspiration. "I _know _we're missing Tigress. And - although I never thought I'd say this - more importantly, I _know _we're missing Po. But that does not extinguish the Kung Fu-flame in our hearts, the flame that burns insatiably with hunger for the taste only an early-morning 'Dragon Warrior' breakfast can satisfy. Now tell me, who's ready to cook a meal fit for the Emperor of China himself?"

With this, his surrounding students stood, and cheared as one. He smirked, then barked out his first demand. "Mantis-grab a ladle!" suddenly, the room went silent.

"Uhmm.. What's a ladle..?"

Shifu looked around to see many faces sharing the same wonder. "..Fine, let's go to 'Dragon Warrior Noodles'."

There was an unsettling quietness, followed by the same-if not more-cheer as before, as they made there way out of the palace gates.

About an hour passed before they all returned, grinning with the pasta in their stomachs. "That was amazing!" yelled Mei Ling, having never tasted the remarkable noodles before.

Viper smiled, beginning to feel closer to her new companion with every passing instant, "They were just like Po's! You should taste his mantou!"

Mei Ling licked her lips, which Crane, Mantis and Monkey couldn't help but gawk at, "Sounds amazing!"

The group had almost forgotten the mentor that roamed amongst them, until he called out "Alright my students! This has been a setback to our training. A minor one, but a setback nonetheless. So I expect you all to work extra hard today. Now get to it-at once!". They all nodded, and dashed to the training hall. Shifu glared up at the sun, 'Ahh, Po and Tigress.. You have two hours left.'

***Meanwhile - With Po and Tigress***

As they slept in one-another's arms for the second night in a row, their love and trust for one another was beginning to strengthen. Tigress was the first to awaken to the sound of birds singing. After all of her training, and with her acute sense of hearing, she had become a _very_ light sleeper. It took her a few seconds to realize where she was, staring outside through the open doors in front of her. Soon, her nerves settled and woke up, as she realized her throbbing headache. She raised her right hand to her temple, as she tried to sit up. But she couldn't. She looked down and over, to see the cuddly panda's arm strewn across her.

She reddened, imagining what Shifu would say, had he walked in and seen the display. After thinking this, many other thoughts started to flood her mind. She remembered what had happened the day before, and wondered if it was a dream. She couldn't resist nudging the bear awake next to her. She jabbed him with her elbow, using slightly more force than she'd meant to, as he snorted to life.

"Hey! Wha-what was that for?" he yelled, grasping his side.

"Oh! Sorry.. I didn't think I'd have that much energy left after yesterday.."

He looked puzzled, "Why- what happened-" suddenly he realized what she was referring to, "Oh yeah! That was fun."

She gazed at him threateningly, as he tensed up. "I guess I'll have to save killing you for our training later.. I have a headache right now."

He laughed, "Probably! You used up every single once of your chi.. And even some of mine. I guess that means you _owe_ me."

She stared at him for a few seconds, then closed her eyes, laid back, and responded. "Fine. I'll let you live. But I'm still going to beat you senseless. I don't forgive people who forfeit fights all that easily."

He looked puzzled once again, then remembered their fight, preceding his restless slumber. "Hey! That's not fair.. I fainted."

She laughed, "Well, you'll know better next time.". With this, he chuckled, and pulled her close to his side. She purred her way to sleep, as her gentle vibrations dragged him under as well.

***Back to the Others***

After the five students reached the training hall, they settled into their usual areas. Monkey limped toward 'The Seven-Talon Rings', Mantis made his way to the 'The Gauntlet of Wooden Warriors', Crane flew for 'The Jade Tortoise of Wisdom', as Viper started to slither in the direction of the 'Field of Fiery Death', only to be interrupted by Mei Ling.

"Hey Viper!" she called in a friendly tone, jogging up behind her.

She turned, and called in a similar amiable voice, "Oh, hey Mei Ling!"

After reaching her, Mei Ling crouched by her side, "Uhm.. I was wondering if you maybe wanted to spar with me? Maybe give me some pointers?"

Viper, being the kind serpent she was, smiled, "Sure, Mei Ling.". She then slithered her way toward the arena, outside of the training room. Mei Ling grinned, and followed.

Once they were a safe distance away from the rest of the group, Mei Ling spoke in a more worrisome tone than before, "H-hey Viper?"

"Yeah?"

"You know that.. that thing I said to Tigress..?"

"Oh.. yeah." she replied, trying not to sound offensive, but finding it near impossible.

They arrived at the arena, and Mei Ling stopped in a corner, as Viper slithered to the opposite one. "Y-you know I wasn't trying to be 'mean', right?"

Viper faced her, "3!" she called, then continued, "I know Mei Ling.. But Tigress.. She's complicated.. 2!"

"Yeah.. I noticed.. You know, I've never actually had anyone have a problem with me.. At least not anyone who's ever told me about it..." she said, her ears drooping.

"1!" she paused to think, "You can't worry about these types of things... It'll pass..". She eye'd Mei Ling for a second, as their eyes met. "Fight!"

Suddenly, they flew in and met at center. Viper swung through the air, performing moves that almost seemed to defy the laws of physics. She floated, and used her own power to propel herself upward with each attack, actually getting more height if Mei Ling managed to block. Her size also gave her a great advantage, and her silky skin was very difficult to get a hold of.

Mei Ling, on the other hand, used moves that would confuse her opponents. She flipped backwards, forwards, and even side-to-side; demonstrating gymnast-like moves. She also did a tremendous job using her baggy leggings in a blinding-manner, and, although it couldn't be told in the instant, all of her surroundings.

Finally, as each attackers' blows continued to meet each other in the center, Mei Ling struggled to speak. "Does she-" she blocked a whip from the snakes tail, "Does she at least forgive easily?"

Viper laughed, "I wish. I once '_accidentally_' fell on her tail and she wouldn't speak to me for a week-". They continued blocking and striking until Viper spoke again, "Of course.. That was before-" she flipped around and slipped under Mei Ling, wrapping around her ankles, and tightening; pulling her to the ground.

"Before what?" asked Mei Ling, jumping back to her feet.

They continued to attack, "Before Po.. Although it sounds crazy.. She's actually _always_ acted differently around him-", with this, Mei Ling threw a punch. Viper smirked, then spiraled around her fist and propelled off, whipping her in the face with the tip of her tail.

Mei Ling stumbled back, her hand meeting her face. "Ouf-" she giggled, "Well.. What do you think I can do to make it up to her?"

Viper slid in her direction and propelled upward, once again trading blows with her opponent, "To be honest.. Now that I think about it.. I hardly think it had anything to do with what you said."

Mei Ling stopped attacking, and pondered the snake's statement; receiving another whip to the face. This was easily enough to bring her back to the fight, as she continued on the attack, "What do you mean?"

Viper laughed, "To be honest, I'm surprised you haven't figured it out." she continued to effortlessly dodge the cats attacks, "I think she sees you as a threat."

Mei Ling now looked even more confused, but kept throwing punches and kicks, "What? Master Tigress, the greatest Kung Fu master in all of China-no, in all the world-sees me as a threat?" she shook her head, "..I think you're mistaken.." she smirked.

"Not a physical threat.. A threat to her relationship. You see, Tigress has always been encaged by her own jealousy. Whether it was that someone, like Monkey, could climb better than her; or even something ridiculous, like Crane being able to fly better than her. It's probably the reason she's become the Kung Fu master she is today, but it's also always been her greatest downfall. And I can only suspect things will be the same way in her social life."

At last, Mei Ling understood. She raised both paws and stepped out of the ring, to signify that she needed a break. After contemplating what Viper had said for mere seconds, she responded, "Uhm.. Why me?"

Viper rolled her eyes, "Really?"

She giggled, "What..? I'm just another girl.. Why wouldn't she be threatened by you?"

Viper stared her down through squinted eyes, until she giggled once again, "You honestly don't know, do you?"

"..What?"

Viper inhaled deeply, and sighed it out, "First of all, I'm Tigress's sister.. It's sort of different. You, on the other hand, are a stranger. At least to her. On top of this, have you not realized the countless men who can't take their eyes off of you?" the cat blushed, "Mei Ling-you're beautiful. Whether you want them to or not; some girls will hate you for it, and almost all guys will love you for it. Most girls, including me, would give anything to have your looks." she frowned, and looked to the floor, "..I can't even work up enough courage to ask out a bug." she sighed once again, but this time it was different, as tears started to form in her eyes.

Paying no attention to her surroundings, she hadn't realized Mei Ling rush to her side; until her soft paw graced her back. "Shhh.. What makes you think I get everything I want? You know, when it comes down to it, looks don't matter at all. As corny as it sounds, it's the inside that counts.. Now what makes you think you aren't attractive anyway?"

The snake looked up, with tear-filled eyes, and started listing reasons, "..No man has ever called me attractive.. I've never caught any guys looking at me-"

Hearing the sorrow-filled excuse, Mei Ling couldn't help but interrupt, "Now _that's_ crap." Viper gasped, "Viper, first of all, you are amazingly attractive. Secondly, what do you mean, 'I've never caught any guys looking at me', I know for a fact that, in the time I've been here alone, I've caught Mantis with his eyes glued to you repetitively. Aaaannnddddd- I've even caught Crane, much to my disliking," she shot her a smile, "eyeing you as well."

Vipers eye's lit a neon azure, and her tears dissipated with a single blink, "..Really?" she asked hopefully. Mei Ling nodded, as she felt the new-found happiness flow through the snake's spine, and removed her hand. Viper felt like running to Mantis, and making a move right away, but knew with the upcoming danger, this was no time to start a relationship. She broke the stare she had on Mei Ling, "Wait.." she moved her eyes back to Mei Ling's, "..much to my disliking?"

Mei Ling froze, "Oh, uhmm.. I meant, I meant.." she ran her paw along her head, "Uhmm.."

"You like Crane?" she hissed teasingly.

Mei Ling tensed, and blushed, answering reluctantly, "..Yeah.. I've loved him ever since we met.."

"Oh.. '_loved_'." the snake teased, with a freshly ground confidence.

Mei Ling blushed even more, and nodded. "That's.. That's part of the reason I've never been with a man.."

Viper continued to stare annoyingly, until what she'd said sunk in, then blinked in confusion, "Wait.._Never_ been with a man?". Mei Ling was now flame-red, as she nodded again. "Oh.. You really are in love." it took a few more moments for the news to truly sink in. "I figured...Well look at you.." Mei Ling was burning up, "..This changes everything.".

Mei Ling cooled, then replied, "How do you mean?"

Viper grinned, "Well.. Considering you've never been with a man, you'll obviously not go for Po, which means Tigress will have to trust you."

Mei Ling now shared the same grin, "Oh I see."

"But wait, why have you not tried for Crane yet?"

Mei Ling laughed, "Just waiting for the right time, I guess."

Viper smiled, and respected her answer, then motioned for the cat to follow, as she made her way back to the training hall.

In the training hall, three animals could be found training restlessly. None of them spoke, an unusual occurrence, but it seemed they were all just far too focused. This didn't last long after two females strolled in laughing, "He said that?" yelled Mei Ling, as the three men approached.

"What? What's so funny?" asked Mantis, from atop Monkeys shoulder.

"Oh nothing, shouldn't you guys be training?" Mei Ling said through bits of laughter.

The three men rolled their eyes, and resumed their practice. After a few more minutes of hushed talking, Viper finally said, "Okay, Mei Ling, let's get back to training before Shifu catches us."

Mei Ling laughed, "Okay, but we continue this conversation in the springs tonight!"

Viper winked, "Of course!"

Back at the palace, Shifu balanced on his staff, meditating. Between breaths, a feint mumbling could be heard. Within his mind, faded images of the previous day played as if in a cinema. He grinned, having reached the point where Tigress and Po awoke, then opened his eyes. '_Aaahh.. I wonder how their rest is coming along._' he re-shut his eyes, and immediately sensed Tigress's chi, '_Good, she's still sleeping... And... It looks like her chi is almost full._'. He pulled away from her frequency, as he scanned for Po's, '_Hmm.. That's odd.. I figured that since Po has such an immense amount of chi, he'd be easier to detect.._' after searching for a few more minutes, and growing frustrated, he realized what was happening. '_..I should be able to detect him. The only reason I wouldn't be able to would be.. if he were connecting with his past self._' his eyes shot open, and he dashed toward the 'Hall of Masters'.

_Ahhh... Not too bad, eh? :) Please review, it makes my day. ;)_


	14. Shang

**Life's Full Of Surprises.**

**_Please note, future chapters will be written based on reviews!_ THANK YOU ALL FOR READING!**

**Also Kung Fu Panda is owned by Dreamworks, please support the official movies, books, etc.! I DO NOT OWN KUNG FU PANDA!**

_Alright, well, this chapter was exhausting to write. It is crammed full of information I've been saving for 'suspenseful' reasons up to this point. Also, I would like to point out that this chapter explains a few things that occurred in past chapters, that may have been a little 'misleading'.. I'm pretty well falling asleep from sheer mental fatigue due to the writting of this chapter, and would like to request that if you see any contradictions in it compared to past ones, you look closer. I was sure to make certain that there weren't any contradictions-some are borderline-but I believe if you think about it, they all make sense. Sorry for the extremely complex chapter btw. Haha, anyway, *AHEM* as per usual request, PLEASE REVIEW!_

The enraged mentor dashed into the 'Hall of Masters' to see his two students folded in each others arms. Needless to say, this only fueled his anger. "PO!" he shouted through gritted teeth, causing Tigress to spring to her feet.

She instantly realized what the red panda had seen, and tried to cover up. "Father.. It's not how it looks.. And even if it was, Po and I are lovers now... So don't overreact.." as the tips of her front teeth lined up, she wondered if she had simply managed to pour gasoline onto an open flame.

"Tigress. Although what I walked in on was not something I generally enjoy seeing, especially in a Kung Fu monument such as this; I am ready to accept your relationship with Po." she let out a sigh of relief as he continued, "What I am not ready to see, is the disobedience of my students, when they knew good and well that I told them not to train."

She stared down at Po through wide eyes for a few elaborate seconds, "Uhmm.. Forgive me Master, if I'm wrong, but isn't he sleeping?"

Shifu clenched his teeth, "He's connecting with one of his past selves. Something _very_ high demanding in both chi, and physical energy; and most certainly something that does _not_ happen by accident."

With this, Tigress glared down at Po, knowing first-hand the dangers of running out of chi. 'Are you _trying_ to kill yourself?' she thought with clutched fists.

She snapped her attention back to Shifu as he started to speak, "I'm going under with him.. You'd better get something to eat, and commence your training. We may be a while." he mentioned, finishing with a hint of mischievousness.

"Okay Master." she bowed, and acknowledged his request, making her way to the kitchen.

The red panda now stood alone, staring down at Po, "..When will you ever learn?" he muttered, grasping his clammy paw. He took in a deep, calming breath, and felt his rage evaporate into the surrounding air. Soon, he entered a deep meditation, and found himself in a dark, lifeless, and inaudible room. A room where thoughts were heard, and echoed as though they were being yelled down a narrow hallway. The same room Tigress and Po had started their journey in, prior to her chi-related 'incident'. Technically, the dark 'emptiness' had been given the name 'Myrkr' or simply, 'Myrker'. But to him, it was known as the 'safe zone', somewhere secluded that would not allow entry without first admitting a request. Knowing that Po would most-likely be in his own version of the room, and not wanting to force his entry, he decided to focus his chi, and request admittance into Po's 'safe zone'. Within minutes, to his surprise, Po accepted.

Soon, a bright portal formed in front of the mentor, bringing with it the sounds of nature. '_What?_' he thought, not expecting such an occurrence. He slowly stepped toward the portal, and climbed through into the grassy planes. He observed his surroundings as the portal quickly shrunk and faded from existence behind him. The elder red panda was awestruck in the face of the realism of the environment. Everything, every last detail was perfect. Gazing to his right side, he noticed a forest, full with luscious life; the sun beating down unphasingly as it colored the image vibrantly. As the leaves danced, golden butterflies fluttered past, falling and climbing with each rapid beat of their wings. Minutes later, the master pulled away from the perfect image, only to be captured by another.

Crouching to his knees, and gazing downward, he noticed the few tiny insects weaving their way through the grass. He slowly separated the grass with his staff, careful not to disturb the peace of the extraordinary dimension. Soon thereafter, he found himself stumbling through the realm. He found many other amazing sites, but none as amazing as what was hiding at the edge of the previously-described forest. As he crept along the landscape, his mouth continually found a way to fall open, beyond his control. He was so absorbed by the displays set up opposite the forest, that he almost missed Po and his trainer. Luckily, Po was no quiet trainee.

"HIYA!" Shifu heard, disrupting the peaceful atmosphere.

He glanced over to see a whirlwind of flame, flying from the peak of a 300 foot mountain. The summit was shaped in a 'half-circle' formation, that jutted out toward him. As he examined further, he found that Po was the cause of the flame. He stood proudly with his trainer, practicing the new move. Po next jokingly poked and teased his trainer, who seemed to reflect a vaguely similar attitude to his own. Of course, it was his past self.

Shifu laughed, then trailed his eyes down the mountain, his jaw inevitably dropping again at the heavenly image. About a meter from the top of the mountain, there was a deep, almost unnatural-looking crevasse that traveled the entire horizontal length of the cliff. Pouring from the crevasse was an unlimited supply of water, that jutted out about a foot before flaring downward toward the watery abyss below.

He stared for what felt like hours, as he finally shook his amazement. Unable to think of what else to do, he shouted as loudly as he could. "PO!" to his satisfaction, Po's trainer looked directly down at him, before grasping Po's shoulder.

Po looked back worriedly, then realized his former self looking downward toward the grassy area below. Po looked over the edge, then called, "Oh hey! Master Shifu! You made it!" at the top of his lungs, only half of the message making it down. Shifu grinned, as Po's trainer grabbed Po under his arm, and hopped from the top of the mountain. Po screamed as they propelled toward the ground. But once they reached mere inches above the impact, they stopped falling, landing slowly and calmly. "I really wish you'd let me in on your plans before doing those types of things." teased Po, as his trainer shrugged.

Shifu rushed to the pair, and bowed to Po's formal self, who bowed in return. "My name is-" the 'past-Po' interrupted eagerly.

"Master Shifu. Po has told me all about you. My name is Shang, and I am the 'Dragon Warrior' of 11 001 B.C." he then stood tall on his hind legs, as Shifu quickly observed him.

He was a well-proportioned creature, standing about 2.5 meters in height, and weighing approximately 1200 pounds. He was a member of the 'Machairodus' family, essentially, a Saber-Cat. As perceived, he had extraordinarily large teeth, which started from the top of his mouth, and overlapped his lower lip; as did his less-lengthy lower teeth, which came to the inside of his upper ones. His fur resembled very closely to that of Tigress's, but was slightly less neat. The shade of orange was a little bit brighter, and the white covering his stomach had a very slight hint of yellow; the stripes from around his back also came further in, overlapping his white fur slightly. He wore only a piece of burlap to cover his genitalia, as his muscular upper-body remained completely uncovered. Much like Tigress, he too had a design gracing his forehead, though Shifu could not see it. The design actually resembled his teeth, if one could imagine his mouth opened wide from a side angle.

After Shifu ogled the creature, he spoke, "It is an honor." as he bowed once again, and a question found his lips, "Wait- You share the same soul as Po? How can that be if you are both here?"

The wise tiger grunted, "Hmm.. Uhmm..How can I explain this.." he mumbled while scratching the scruff on the back of his neck. "You see.. There are two main 'worlds'.." he paused, then looked down at the red panda, "Shifu, you probably know this already." he said as Shifu nodded, "There is the spirit world, to which I belong, and the physical world, to which the both of you inhabit. Our worlds, of course, are linked. Once a being from your world passes on, his spirit literally 'passes' into our world. This was meant to be the only means of reaching the spirit world; Sadly, some have found other 'loop holes'.." he stopped on the thought for a moment, then shook it from his mind. "Anyway," he gazed down at the red panda once again, "Shifu, this is where things become 'shaky', where many mortals, such as you two, are missled.. When a being dies, and its spirit is abducted, naturally, the portion of its spirit that linked it to a physical body is no longer needed; since he will now be entering a non-physical world. This portion has become known as the 'essence' of a spirit. Essences actually take thousands, sometimes millions of years to create, and mass amounts of accumulated chi energy. Meaning that if a new one was created each time, there would only be a newborn creature every few thousand years; that is-assuming we could supply the required chi energy. This is precisely why essences are recycled. It only takes hundreds of years, and a small amount of energy to recharge them. And once they are recharged, they are simply sent back into the physical world to give life to a new creature. The counterpart of this essence, the 'soul' per-say, remains in the spirit world as I do."

Shifu stared and felt the scruff of his chin, appearing to understand, as Po spoke up, "Wait a minute.. Can you dumb that down a bit?"

Before the beast could speak, Shifu interrupted, "In simplified terms Po, when someone dies, they go to heaven, but their physical essence is captured for 'recharging'; so it can later be placed in a new body, to fuel a new life."

Po blinked, "So.. Me and Shang aren't the same soul..?"

This time the tiger responded, "We are, Po. Our essence is recycled, and, if the 'Dragon Warrior' prophecy continues to stand, leads a similar life. Most souls deriving from the same essences live completely unique lives, but ours has been designed to hit a few key points. This is because of the natural accumulation of negative chi, 'evilness' as you might call it Po." he peered down at the smiling panda, "The 'Dragon Warrior' was actually created to combat against this 'evilness' with the extreme amount of positive chi his soul is charged with... And what better way to lead the 'Dragon Warrior' to this 'evilness' than with a map; a map of key points.. a prophecy." with this, a worried look blessed his hardened gaze. "Sadly, these key points seem to be raising slightly in difficulty, which is precisely why the link in the 'Dragon Warriors' mind had originally been put in place. Because.. frankly, he needs as much help as he can get."

"HEY!" yelled Po, as the tiger winced, then continued his explanation,

"N-not to say you are not strong, Po.. It's just, the strength and size of your being is slimming with each 'new' 'Dragon Warrior', but the challenges you must face are getting more and more difficult." The beast then brought a hand to his chin, much like Shifu, then snapped as he realized one more key bit of information. "Oh! Also, when an essence is captured, the time it takes to recharge varies, depending on it's maximum chi power."

Po smiled, having finally made a useful observation, "Oh! So that's why the 'Dragon Warrior' only spawns once every 1 000 years?"

The large cat nodded, "More or less, yes. Our essences' power level is far beyond that of a regular essence-about 4-10 times more powerful. But it also spawns perfectly in sync with the abrupt release of 'evilness' that occurs in your physical world."

Po allowed himself time to comprehend, then replied with another question. "Uhmm.. Can't everyone link with their past-selves? I mean, Shifu's in this realm.. What makes my link so special..?"

The tiger deeply exhaled, "Well, firstly, no one is allowed to communicate between our worlds. The 'Dragon Warrior' is actually an exception to this rule, and is allowed to grant access to one other person at a time." he inhaled, then continued, "But there's actually a list of things.. You know how we trained earlier in your Myrker?" Po nodded, "Well, 'souls' aren't supposed to be capable of doing that.. Because we don't have our essences anymore, and technically, that is a part of the physical world.. But because of the link, we can temporarily merge our souls to yours.. forming a single essence, a single mind." Po squinted with satisfactory, as the saber cat continued, "That's not all though. The link also allows a list of other things.. Such as the 'Dragon Warriors' traveling into our sacred world; which, consequently, allows another group of other possibilities." he raised a paw to his head, seeming to be forgetting something. "Oh! And finally, the most important thing of all." he looked down to see both Shifu's and Po's focus center upon him, "You are one of the only mortals... In the history of mankind... Who's allowed... TO EAT OUR 'GODLY' FOODS!"

Once his final words quickly left his lips, Po lost control. "WOW! WHY DIDN'T YOU OPEN WITH THAT?" he screamed, visibly shaking with excitement as he gave the cat a high-five.

Shifu rolled his eyes, "So Shang, what you're saying is that no other mortal is allowed to communicate with the spirit realm? And no spirit is allowed to communicate with a mortal?"

Shang nodded, "Well except, in some extreme situations, a spirit will be allowed to make contact with a mortal.. In a less direct sense; through physical 'signs'. We are your 'Guardians' after all."

Shifu nodded, looking as though he'd finally pieced something together, "Amazing.. Truly amazing."

Hearing his praise, Po jumped in. "Hey Shang, tell him your story."

Shifu was about to interrupt, feeling rushed as he could feel his chi slowly beginning to deplete. But upon seeing the warriors hopeful gaze, allowed him to continue.

Shang put on a modest ego, as he started, suddenly sounding very similar in person to Po. Presumably due to the more personal matter. "Ah, me? C'mon, you know I don't like to talk about myself.. But if you must know," he started with a grin, "I was born of two Saber-Cat parents.. Being one of the last of my kind upon my birth, I had a very difficult life to lead. By the time I reached 100 years old, my family, and the rest of my species had been killed by a 'Gomphothere' warlord-"

Po interrupted, unbelievably excited, "See Master Shifu! Just like _my_ parents and species!" as Shifu glared at him with annoyance, he clamped his mouth shut; and the Saber-Cat proceeded to finish his story, only reaching the end of an era resembling drastically to what Po had endured with Shen.

After this, Shifu watched him respectfully, as the cat panicked from the attention, "What? Do I have something on my face?"

Shifu stared, "No..." then let out a chuckle, "..but you are definitely sharing the same essence as Po." he said with a grin.

The oversized tiger laughed, "Oh, that.. Well I'm a little smarter, but.." he peered down at Po's annoyed gaze, then wrenched him under his arm, "C'mon! You know I'm just messing with ya!" he muttered, rubbing his knuckles over the helpless panda's head.

After a few painful seconds, Po finally managed to pull away; as Shifu started to speak. "..Anyway Po.." it seemed Shifu's amazement had finally faded, and his usual composure was beginning to return, along with his original reason for entering Po's mind. "I do believe I told you to rest..".

Po stared back like a young child who'd just been caught playing with matches.

"Strangely, your chi levels seem to have recovered, and also seems quite stable.. But I'm afraid we'll have to leave this place anyway." as his final words left his lips, a new intrigue set in, "...what is this place anyway..? This obviously isn't your 'safe zone'.. is it?"

The elder 'Dragon Warrior' smiled, "This is no Myrker.. This is 'Valhalla'."

Shifu's mouth gaped, "'Va-valhalla? You mean, the sacred 'hall of the slain'? The _planet_ reserved in heaven for all fallen warriors who died in combat, fighting purely for peace, honor, and justice?"

The tiger nodded, "Yeah, everyone else is back at the 'feasting area', on the other side of the planet. Come to think of it, I could go for a meal myself.." he said, patting his stomach.

Shifu looked petrified, then turned his attention to Po, "Po. We have to leave."

"Wait. What? Why?"

"Don't disobey my orders again my student." suddenly his voice was strong, and cut through Po like a knife through soft butter, "We. Have. To. Leave."

Po knew better than to doubt his judgment, then nodded, and hugged his new friend, "Alright bud, we'll have to speak later."

The cat smiled, "Of course. I'll be waiting." then turned and fell to all fours, running off into the distance at an amazing pace.

Shifu glared at Po until he caught his upset gaze, then nodded.

Po lifted his right arm, and shot a dark, vertical portal about 5 feet away. Shifu stepped through first, as Po followed. Once they were in Po's 'Myrker', and the portal had fully closen, Shifu started to speak angrily through his mind. '_Po, I know for a fact that you know better than to enter such a sacred place. Neither of us are even close to worthy of such greatness. On top of this, do you not realize how little time we have? You have to leave your 'eternal mode' immediately; or you will never learn anything._'

Po stared at him through innocent eyes, '_What?_'

Shifu let out a deep breath, '_Po, we both know that you tapped into your eternal knowledge from the past._'

Po fell back to a seated position as he answered, pinching the bridge of his nose, '_Well.. Yeah, sorta.._'

'_Sort of? What do you mean, sort of!_'

Po looked up from his concentration, '_I mean.. Well, I don't really have all of my 'eternal knowledge' back yet.._' Shifu stared at him, awaiting the upcoming explanation, '_You see, I only regain what I ask about.. And to be honest, I have a ton of questions, and never know where to start.. Most of the time I end up training before I get to ask any questions._' as his eyes met Shifu's, they also met disappointment. Consequently, he spat out a final sentence to make up for the last few, '_B-but, that doesn't mean I haven't learned a lot; I've been trying super hard!_'

Shifu couldn't deny it, he was annoyed, he spoke through gritted teeth with an immense anger building in his tone. '_Po, you're using 'eternal mode'._' Po stared back, moistening his mouth with his tongue in a very loud manner, simply fueling his masters rage. '_You can't actually do anything you've been practicing in actual combat for a reason-you're not actually learning them. You're creating a 'virtual example', a hologram. It couldn't even hurt something as helpless as a butterfly, let alone the greatest evil our universe has ever faced, in a matter of only four days! It surprises me that you were never told this, but I guess, maybe Shang wanted you to get a 'feel' for things first."_ it sounded as though his anger was beginning to fade, but it instantaneously rebounded back nonetheless,_ "Can you not see the time you've been wasting? Then again, you do this every time you're faced with responsibility. Push it off until the last given moment, and then train relentlessly all at once, barely saving yourself and risking billions of lives in the process. Po, if you ever want to be even close to worthy of dating my daughter, you will pull yourself together and focus beforehand for once in your soon-to-be very short life!'_ his thoughts were screaming in his usual 'scruffy' tone, they were assertive and not to be questioned; but the final sentence left even him trembling. A few short seconds of silence followed.

'_..worthy..'_ Po mentally whispered, staring into the blank ground.

Shifu untensed his jaw, '_Po I-I didn't mean.._' he tried to explain, but the panda wouldn't have it.

'_Get out._' Shifu almost shivered as the cold whisper quivered its way down his spine.

The red panda stood motionless, blankly staring at his student through shaking eyes. '_Po.._'

He glared up at him bearing reddened, and tear-filled irises. Suddenly, he did the impossible. He _spoke_ in the inaudible realm. "I said. Get. Out." his jaw was flexed, and hardly moved as he growled.

With this, Shifu lost the little hope he had to begin with, as he could see he'd broken Po beyond repair. He'd seen Po _almost_ as bad as this before, when the poor panda was helping around his fathers shop. He'd been serving a beautiful young wolf, when he accidentally stepped on her furry tail. The cries she let out could be heard throughout the valley, and she soon directed them toward Po. '_What the heck is wrong with you, you gigantic, overweight and overly-pathetic bear!_" she squealed before storming out of the restaurant.

Never before had anyone probed such nerves within the poor warrior, and subsequently, he refused to train for weeks. He'd even given up eating for a while, but after a few hours of suffering, he couldn't take it; which only made him feel worse. Regardless, Shifu knew the depressed panda had to be left alone.

'_Okay, Po.' _he muttered, reluctantly entering a meditative stance, then dissipating into the surrounding air.

_Alright, let's face it. You don't even need an account to review a story, so what excuse do you really have? Mathematically, more reviews = more updates. So by helping me, you help yourself. Sounds pretty fair don't ya think?_


	15. The Talk

**Life's Full Of Surprises.**

**_Please note, future chapters will be written based on reviews!_ THANK YOU ALL FOR READING!**

**Also Kung Fu Panda is owned by Dreamworks, please support the official movies, books, etc.! I DO NOT OWN KUNG FU PANDA!**

_Okay.. Where do I start..? Firstly, yes, I realize the chapter-length is creeping up on me.. :P Please review & whatnot, I love to read through them._

The elder masters' eyes slowly flared open, he inhaled, then let go of the still-sleeping panda's paw. As he stood and adjusted to his physical body; he silently watched his student. The panda lay there, an occasional movement or flinch could be seen in his limbs and face; but aside from that, he may as well have been dead. Shifu knew all to well that his pupil would be of no use in his current mental state.

As he turned to walk out of the door, his thoughts ravaged his mind. He would learn from his mistake. Although before this moment it had never occurred to him, it was now clear that he was, as Po would put it, "Level 0" at parenting. It was an art completely unknown to the old panda; an art completely unlike _anything_ he'd ever known. This was one of the few places he considered to be of the highest priority, and one of the few places he paid little-to-no attention to up to this point.

Having these, and many other thoughts chase through his mind, he'd finally reached the door. He looked up into the sky, the sun was falling toward the horizon, '_It's been about two hours.._' he thought. He then unproped the door, and left Po in a darkened peace, much like the panda's 'Myrker', where his unstable mind now resided.

As he shut the door, his thoughts continued to break down in his mind; so occupied was he by these thoughts, that he hadn't realized the feline that had crept up behind him.

"Master, is everything alright?"

Shifu jumped, "Well.. Sort of." he muttered under his troubled breath.

Tigress raised a brow, "Sort of? It's not Po, is it?"

The mentor bit his lip, "Sort of." he said again, avoiding making eye-contact with the cat that stood before him.

Following this, the five other Kung Fu warriors crept up the walkway toward them. Tigress took this into account without even glancing in their direction, "What do you mean, sort of? He is O.K. isn't he?" she harshly whispered.

Shifu glanced over at the five Masters, "Tigress, I assure you, physically, he is fine. And he will definitely wake up again. He may need Mei Lings' help, considering he's woken up since she originally performed the practice, but aside from that, he will be fine. I'll further explain later, but for now, just pretend everything is alright." he spat quickly in a whisper.

The second after he finished, the five warriors were within hearing-distance. Well, excluding both Mei Ling and Viper, who were well capable of hearing the entire time with their superior hearing 'mechanisms'. Regardless, it seemed they were both too caught up in conversations with the surrounding group to pay any attention to the bickering before them.

"Hey Shifu!" yelled Mantis, "Where's Po?" he looked about as though he'd expected to find him hidden amongst the area, or behind his mentor.

"He's still sleeping." interrupted Tigress, "He-" she glanced down at Shifu, "He's resting. It would seem that he got back to training right after Shifu told him not to." Shifu continued to avoid the gazes of the surrounding warriors.

"Huh. Classic Po." replied Mantis. "Anyway, it's snack time now, should we wake him up? He must be starving." Mantis hoped in the direction of the door, before Shifu, who'd been completely inanimate up to this point, dropped a foot in front of him.

"That.. Won't be necessary. With the connection made, Po uses very little of his physical resources. He should be able to last up to 8 days without a drop of food or water."

Mantis grinned, "Yeah, but you know Po." he teased, while trying to hop past his mentor, who continued to block him.

"Trust me, he'll be fine." he said, bearing a rare, fake-looking smile.

"Fine. Let's go eat. I'm starving." stated the bug, before swiftly hoping down the walkway to the dining room.

The surrounding group, that had long took-on skeptical looks due to Shifu's unusual behavior, shrugged and followed the bug down the path. Soon, intimate conversations re-arose amongst all of the trainee's, save for Tigress, Shifu and Mantis. All of which were in their own very-different worlds.

They next found themselves in the kitchen, enjoying easy-to-make foods; such as sandwiches, salads and diced fruit. After the eating had begun, and the conversations had died down, Shifu started to speak.

He stood by the door, being in no mood to eat, and spoke as though his heart was not already being weighted by the terrible words he'd just finished saying to Po. "My students, I'm sure you are all quite confused by Po's 'situation'; as was I, until just a few moments ago." his students faced him while stuffing their faces with foods. Excluding Tigress, of course, who sat with her arms crossed at the edge of the table; only occasionally picking at her salad. "It seems a few of the scrolls Oogway had written are not completely 'accurate'. Although their information was mostly correct, there were a few inconsistencies." he continued on to explain the two 'worlds' theory that Shang had explained earlier, along with a few of Oogway's scrolls, such as the _The Scroll Of Profound Lust_, and the basic theories behind a 'Myrker'. During the story, the clatter of forks, spoons and plates slowly came to an end as the students gradually, one at a time, finished their meals. Following the explanation, a few heads nodded, while others remained still in contemplation.

After a few instances of silence, Mantis spoke up. "So.. When we die, we get to see Oogway again?" he asked hopefully.

"Well.. Yes.. that's not quite why I explained all of this... But yes." this statement brought a small smile to Shifu's face, along with many others around the room.

"So why can you wake up, but not Po?" asked Viper.

Shifu stared downward as he felt the scruff of his chin. "Well, I'd assume it's because I'm not the one making the link. We can all 'visit' Po, but once we return to our 'Myrkers', the link is cut off. Po's link, on the other hand, is direct. Since Po's chi capabilities are not yet at a full enough level, due to the fact that he is yet to passionately kiss the one he loves," he paused, and allowed time for everyone to glance over at the blushing tiger, "his chi capabilities are not great enough to break the link on his own."

A few more nods were seen, as Monkey cut-in, "So.. Is Po training now?"

No one but Tigress realized the faint look of disappointment that covered Shifu's face before he spoke, "He.." he quickly debated over telling the group of what he had said, and decided it best that he only tell Tigress, in a more private scene. "Yes, he's training. Which reminds me, Mei Ling, would you mind performing the practise on him as soon as possible; I'd hate for him to get stuck in such a state once his chi depletes.."

Mei Ling glanced over at Tigress, who blushed then nodded; Mei Ling then nodded back to Shifu, "I'll do it right away." she said, standing and putting her dishes on the counter.

After she left, Shifu resumed his speech, "As for you four," he motioned toward the three guys and Viper, "I would request that you resume your training until at least sundown." They nodded, then walked out of the door, Tigress was about to follow, but was stopped by a sorrow-riden Shifu. "We.. Have to talk.."

"What is it, Master?" she asked through blinking eyes.

"It's.. It's about Po."

"He is okay, isn't he?" she asked worriedly.

"Well, yes. But I think I may hav-" he stopped himself, "-I did say something I shouldn't have."

She blinked once again, "What was it?"

Shifu glanced down at the floor, then up to meet her eyes, "I think I.. I may have told him he wasn't worthy of you.." once his final words left his mouth, Tigress's sincere gaze turned to a coarse one.

"You what!" she exclaimed, barely holding herself back from striking her own father.

"I-I didn't mean to. He had me so enraged, and wasn't listening to a word I was saying! I had to get through to him.. And you're the only person I've ever met that could.." he mumbled the final sentence in an austere manner.

She stared down at him, as he occasionally met eyes with her and then glanced away. "That gives you no right to say anything like that! Were you not thinking at all? He trusted you, he let you into his mind, and you tore his heart out!" she stormed out of the room, leaving a flustered red panda sitting in the corner. This was the first time she'd ever yelled at him with such ferocity, the first time she'd ever yelled at him as her father.

As she stormed into the training room, and the doors flew open, many eyes glanced over at her. She stomped her way to 'The Gauntlet of Wooden Warriors', one of the most difficult of all the 'Training Hall's' mechanisms. She stood dead center of the spiked logs, and jumped into the air. The instant she left the ground, the logs started to spin with unperceivable speed. She was a blur as she maneuvered about them for the first few seconds, when suddenly, one of them exploded. This caught the attention of all the trainer's, but it was clear she was in a blinded rage, something not completely uncommon for the tiger, so the three guys did their best to ignore her. Of course, a certain serpent could sense something was different, and slithered in closer.

After a few more seconds, another club was blown off of its swivel, and propelled across the room. Soon, the clubs were getting shot off in all directions, but never came close to hitting any of the surrounding Masters; it seemed she still had a small, fading ounce of self-control to spare.

After about a minute of her destroying the equipment, Viper called out "Tigress!"

To which the enrage tiger replied "What!", continuing to destroy her favourite device.

"Come here! I think we should talk!"

With this, Tigress became visible for a split second, as she threw herself horizontally over a club, which swung at about eye level. Once it was about 6 inches beneath her head, she grasped it with both paws, and ripped it from its bearings; continuing on to spin into a forward flip, and rifle the spiked club into the wall across the room. It stuck to the wall for a few seconds, before falling to the ground; as she gracefully landed on her feet, outside of 'what was left of' the equipment's reach.

"What?" she growled to an intimidated-looking Viper, of whom looked at her, then moved her eyes toward the door with a slight nudge of her head, and made her way toward it. Tigress regained her composure, then followed the snake.

"I said, what?" she growled once again as they stepped out of the door, passing Mei Ling on her way in.

"Thank you!" she called enthusiastically, strutting through the already-open door.

Viper smiled, then timidly looked back to Tigress, "What's going on?" she said in a concerned voice.

"Nothing. Let me get back to training." she replied coldly, trying to pass the serpent, who continued on to block the way.

During the short silence, the two warriors realized the significantly small amount of noise coming from the training room. With a lift of her tail, Viper lured the cat to the side. Tigress rolled of her eyes, then followed, as they made their way to a patch of grass beneath a tired 'triadica sebifera' tree.

"Tigress.. You have to get it out. Holding it in isn't good for your chi."

"Viper, I've been holding this kind of stuff in my entir-" she realized the snake's unsupportive gaze, hesitated, then responded. "..My chi isn't _that_ bad!"

"Tigress.. Master Shifu just explained this. According to Oogway's scroll, your chi determines how long you can stay in the link. And I think it's already clear that you aren't able to last all that long." she stated, still trying not to offend the Master before her.

"W-well I was upset. So that would affect it." she tried to cover up.

"Even so.. You should've been able to last longer than a few minutes.." Viper locked eyes with the tiger before continuing, "Tigress.. What's bothering you?".

Tigress let her posture fall slightly as she stared down at her feet. "It's Shifu. He.." she hesitated once again, "He told Po he wasn't worthy of me.."

Viper reflected a vague expression of bewilderment, "What? Why would Shifu say that?"

"Because he was angry, and Po wouldn't listen to him... He said he had to get his attention.."

Viper's thought quickly, then responded as her sincerity gradually amplified, "Oh.. Well that's.. That's terrible.. But I'm sure it just slip.. Shifu would never say that in his right mind; he knows better."

Tigress nodded, "Yes. I know Viper.. But what about Po..?"

Viper shuddered, "Oh.. Yeah.. I.." she knew that Tigress needed support more than truth right now, "Well.. Po's.. Uhm.. I'm sure he'll be fine." her fangs clenched in her mouth at the thought of how Po typically reacted to depression. She quickly recollected how heart-broken he was when Tigress had done something as simple as telling him to leave, during his first day as 'Dragon Warrior'.. It was almost hypocritical, he seemed so strong, he was willing to take on each and every one of their problems.. but on the inside, he was actually the softest of them all.

"D-Do you really think so..?" asked Tigress hopefully, as she confessed the reasoning behind her despair, "You know.. We've only really gotten to spend about an hour together as lovers.. I'm trying to keep myself more emotional than before, but without him.. it's only been getting tougher and tougher to manage.."

Viper smiled, "If it helps.. I've noticed. And as for Po, I know he'll be alright; he's never let us down before." she held her smiling gaze on the tiger, feeling as though she'd actually scarcely managed to convince herself of this uncertainty as well.

"Thanks, Viper." suddenly Tigress's voice went from a soft whisper, to an amiable growl. "Now can I get back to my training?"

Viper's smile spread slightly, "Fine. But _try_ not to break anything else."

Tigress grimaced, as the duo turned and made their way back into the training hall, where they and the group remained until sundown. At this time, an exhilarated mountain cat, and three tired-looking boys stumbled their way out of the hall, and toward their barracks.

Viper and Tigress, on the other hand, remained training for a few more hours. For Tigress, it was a means to ease her mind, and forget the suffering she was going through. But for Viper, it was a way to keep an eye on the feline, and to hold her rage at a manageable level. No conversing took place, but a few occasional growls, grunts and hollers were well-passed perceptible. Finally, the minutes dribbled to hours, and the pair sauntered, sweat-riden, out of the training room; making their way to the hot springs.

"Wow.. So this is how it feels to be you.." Viper muttered between small pants, "I don't think I like it."

Tigress laughed, "This is nothing. I once trained overnight for multiple days, and snuck back into my room each morning before the morning gong rang; so Shifu wouldn't find out."

Viper stared at the Master, her tongue flicked slowly through her teeth in confusion, "Why do you do this to yourself?"

"_To_ myself..? I do it _for_ myself." Tigress said, her expression altering from defensive to offensive.

"I guess, but.. Why?" Viper blinked.

With this, they'd reached the barracks, and silently made their way back to the springs, only to see they were already in use. "I can't.. I can't let myself get soft.. I could never let myself get soft." the feline whispered. '_..not again._' she thought, locking her gaze on a knot in the wooden floor.

Viper squinted, "Wait a minute.. You just said you were trying to be more emotional for Po.."

"Yes, emotional.. Not soft. Emotional people are able to care, and be cared for.. It first occurred to me a couple nights ago that that's what I want right now. I've never _really_ been cared for before-" she noticed Viper's disapproving scrutiny, "I mean- Well you've always been there.. But I want.." she blushed an intense scarlet, "I want a man."

Hearing this, Viper blushed as well, "Oh." she let slip in shock, a little too loud for the tigers' liking.

"Shh!" Tigress's eyes shot around the hallway, as though she was expecting someone to saunter out. "Around the same time, I realized Po was that man.. He's strong, a good cook, handsome.."

Viper rolled her eyes, anticipating the list that was about to follow, "Okay, okay. But what do you mean, not soft?"

Tigress bit her lip, "Soft people can be hurt.. I don't want to be hurt. I haven't been since I was a child, and that's when I closed that door. I made a promise to myself that I would never open it again, and so I haven't. And _never_ will." her eyes fixated on the snake with the final statement, trying to reassure her, as well as herself, that it was true.

She peered back unconvinced. "Okay, whatever you say_..But I'm pretty sure they are the same thing.._" the reptile sang the finale, strolling through the door of the springs. "Oh! Hey Mei Ling!" she yelled enthusiastically.

"Hi Viper!" the mountain cat called back.

Tigress growled, not entirely sure which of the two females she was directing it at, then followed the sly serpent into the cloud of heat.

After the mist faded into the hallway, Mei Ling shot Tigress a smile, "Hey Tigress!" her enthusiasm was overcome by a heartfelt apology, "Uhm.. I'm sorry for everything I did.." she gazed into her own reflection, which stared back in the popping bubbles before her.

Tigress hastily examined her, showing absolutely no emotion, and sliding the door shut behind her. "And what is that?"

"I uhm.. Well I questioned your relationship with Po.. And that was wrong of me.. Can you find it in your heart to forgive me..?" she pleaded with a soft, uncontrollable purr.

Tigress eyed the mountain cat, and sighed. "I'll try.." she asserted her reply with a final statement, "-But only because Po seems to trust you.."

The mountain cat smiled, "Yay! C'mon, join us!" she hushed ecstatically, waving her over to her left side, whereas Viper had already slid in on her right. Upon noticing the tigers reluctance, she teased, careful as to what she was saying. "Come on Tigress! I won't bite!" she smiled.

"Fine." the tiger backed into the darkness to undress.

Viper leaned in to whisper to Mei Ling, who laughed.

"What?" called Tigress from the shadows.

Mei Ling giggled, "It's just.. Viper says you're shy about your body.. And well.. That seems rediculous."

"And why is that?" replied Tigress in an annoyed tone.

Mei Ling laughed nervously, "Well, isn't it obvious.. You're gorgeous. Every man in China obsesses over your body.. Not to mention your amazing complexion."

Hearing this, Tigress blushed to such an extent that she almost glowed amongst the shadows. "..Yeah, coming from 'Mei Ling', the one the three male Kung Fu Masters haven't taken their eyes off of since she got here.." her lips almost tingled with the unusually-satisfying compliment to her nemesis.

Viper interrupted, "Well they'd look at you too, if you didn't intimidate them every time you got the chance."

A quiet and contained laugh escaped Tigress's lips, as she frantically covered her mouth, then timidly cleared her throat. She wasn't used to such attention, and couldn't deny the fact that, oddly, she loved it.

"Come on Tigress, don't be shy around us.. We're practically sisters now... How are you ever going to 'serve' Po, if you won't even show yourself in front of us." Mei ling teased.

Tigress, of whom was so caught up in the compliments she was receiving, didn't even realize that Mei Ling had mentioned Po in such a way.

"And I don't want you backing out here like you usually do!" called Viper.

Words finally found Tigress's lips as she replied, "I.. I-ah.. I don't think it's going to happen today, _Mei_.. Viper, I'd assume you knew that already." she finished sounding very accepting of both Viper, and, more importantly, _Mei Ling_.

"Well it was worth a shot!" answered Viper wholeheartedly.

Mei Ling laughed, "Alright, that's good enough for me! We'll just close our eyes!" with this, they all heard an upset "Darn!" from outside the door, followed by a "Shut up, Monkey!".

Subsequently, there was a short, uneasy silence. "Monkey, Mantis.. Is that you..?" Viper called, rolling her eyes with a sarcastic shake of her head.

"Don't forget Crane!" answered Mantis.

"Hey! I-I was just coming out to see what all the noise was." answered the red-crowned crane, preceding another short pause. As a result, Mei Ling now found herself with an embarrassed grin, as she rolled her eyes in a fashion very similar to that of Viper.

"Sure ya were." replied Mantis, "Anyways, I guess the shows over, lets get back to our beds." following this, there was an overly-lengthy pitter-patter of feet across the wooden floor.

Viper grinned, "Okay girls, now that they're gone, did you all bring your pillows for the fight?"

Mei Ling and Tigress, although the latter could not be seen, both raised a brow in confusion.

Mei Ling caught on first, "Oh! Yes I did bring my pillow.. But can we have the fight out in the grass today, it's too crammed in here."

With this, a feint gasp of excitement was heard from behind the door. Viper smiled, "Guys, get back to bed!"

A painful-sounding slap was heard, as Monkey screeched abruptly in pain, and Mantis stated, "You have to learn to keep your mouth shut!" his voice fading as he became more distant from the door.

Viper and Mei Ling shut their eyes and threw their heads back in laughter, as Tigress inconspicuously snuck into the springs beside them.

Soon, Mei Ling peered over, "Oh!" she smiled, "Well I guess that's why all the guys in the village call you 'Sly-Hot-Thai'." she said with a wink.

Finally, Tigress caved under the weight of the unusual amount of praise. "Alright, alright. Enough of all that.." she spat sheepishly, "..I hear Viper has a little thing for Mantis."

Mei Ling grinned ear-to-ear, "Oh, do you..?" she asked, turning her attention to the now-reddened snake.

Viper chuckled faintly, "I-" she cleared her throat, "I think that's a conversation for another day.."

Mei Ling laughed once again, "Well, I've been in here for at least an hour already.. So, although I'd love to stay and chat, my skin's starting to prune!" Viper laughed, as Tigress smiled, "Well, cya's!" she called, standing from the water. Thankfully, she was a little more cautious this time, as she covered herself with an arm as soon as she stood. She then backed into the darkness as Tigress had, but it was more-than obvious that it was not for the same reasons.

In the meantime, Viper continued on with the plan she'd earlier whispered to Mei Ling; she was going to aid Tigress on her journey to 'opening up' more, whether the feline knew it, or not. "Sooooo.. What about that whole fiasco in your Myrker earlier..."

Tigress turned to face her, but remained expressionless. "What 'fiasco'?"

"You know.. It's pretty obvious you and Po were linked... What happened?" Viper's eyes squinted slightly as a grin blessed her features.

With this, Mei Ling had finished drying off, and came out with a towel wrapped around her chest and another around the top of her head. Wide-eyed, she sat on the opposite edge of the tub; this question had also been bothering her.

Tigress glanced between the two, "W-well.." she considered telling them of the secret scroll room, but the weight of her trust with Mei Ling was insufficient. Had it of only been Viper, she most-likely would've spilled the whole story. "Nothing. Nothing happened."

Viper and Mei Ling smiled, both figuring something intimate had happened in the 'Dream World'. "Oooo.." Mei Ling whispered, "..getting down in your Myrker!" she teased, receiving an intimidating glare from Tigress.

"Okay, fine. Something happened.. But nothing like that.. It's a-" she fidgeted her tongue amongst her teeth, "..secret."

Viper and Mei Ling looked at one another, then back to her, "What do you mean, secret?" asked Viper, ever-intrigued by everything she didn't know.

"I'll.. I'll tell you both later. I'm not sure Po would want me to right now." she gazed up bearing an amiable look, which only slightly covered her actual newfound concern, '_Dang it Po! You still haven't told me what was on that scroll!_'.

Finally, it seemed their bathing had reached its end, whereas Viper could clearly tell something was on the tigers' mind. "Alright, that's enough for one night!" she called, then yawned, "I'm gonna head to bed. Bye girls!" she mentioned, slithering out of the water and into the hall.

Tigress smiled, her thoughts escaping her. '_It must be nice to not have to dry off every night.._' she blinked out of her concentration, as Mei Ling came to a standing position.

"Me too! Night Tigress!" she called, jogging to meet the snake in the hall, and quickly shutting the door behind her.

Tigress was now left with her lingering mind, she stood up while trying to remember the scrolls contents. It was almost like remembering a dream; in fact, it was a lot like remembering a dream.. Probably because she ran out of chi, she assumed. She was now at the edge of the warm water, with a single towel wrapped around her torso. She moved it back and forth, then knelt to dry her legs. At last, she was completely dry. Making this observation, she then blanketed herself in the towel, and proceeded to rapidly blow out each of the candles; then made her way back out into the hall, and into her dorm. Her night came to an abrupt end, as she allowed her mind-consuming worries to relax into her soft, warm bed; and drifted off to sleep along with them.

Meanwhile, a shooken Shifu found himself struggling to meditate amongst the silence he'd buried himself in the entire afternoon. The particular location, was the 'Dragon Grotto'. The same place he'd initially shown Po the skill of inner peace. He stood beneath the same dripping-droplet of water, trying to focus and attain the same graceful skill, that he could have sworn he'd mastered so long ago.

He came to restart the technique again, not understanding where he was going wrong. He waved his hands circularly, as his feet trailed similarly beneath him. He inhaled deeply, and- Suddenly a drop had fallen and hit him in the head. With a grit of his teeth, he opened his eyes for the first time in hours.

At first, it came as a surprise to him that night had already found the valley. The cave was far different now than it had been during the day. He could only see a vague outline of the once-ferociously huge dragon, which pointed an open hand of claws out at him. It wouldn't have been perceivable at all, had it not been for the candles he'd lit a few hours earlier; which now found themselves approaching the end of their lives, in a pile of melted wax, residing close by his feet.

He closed his eyes, trying to resume his practice, when a large echo was emitted from the palace. "WHOOSH!" his eyes darted open almost as quickly as he waved his staff by the candles, and the cave went dark.

The next place he found himself was at the arena of the palace, searching for the source of the unusual sound. "Who's there?" he called in a scruffy voice, receiving no answer. He continued to search amongst the darkness until- The same noise was heard. "WHOOSH!" Luckily, this time he recognized its origin; and dashed in its direction.

_Sorry guys... I know it isn't quite my best work, but hopefully it makes up for these short-comings in length... Anywho, thanks for reading! :) REVIEW Please!_


	16. The Plan

**Life's Full Of Surprises.**

**_Please note, future chapters will be written based on reviews!_ THANK YOU ALL FOR READING!**

**Also Kung Fu Panda is owned by Dreamworks, please support the official movies, books, etc.! I DO NOT OWN KUNG FU PANDA!**

_Alrighty then; Here it is... Not quite as long as I would have liked, but I still believe it to be thoroughly enjoyable. Haha, I'm going to blame the fact that it's less than half the length of the last chapter on the 'mini-vacation' I took... The chapters were building too fast in length anyways... Regardless, I hope you enjoy, and I'll try to get the next chapter out faster than I did with this one. As always, PLEASE REVIEW, FAVORITE, AND ALL OF THAT JAZZ. It makes me very happy to read your reviews, and even happier to know that people care enough to leave them after reading!_

He rushed passed the barracks, then veered down a rock pathway to the training room. Finally, it came into view, as he realized the flickering candle-glow being emitted from the slightly-open door. He paced himself to a quiet creep, then snuck his way to the opening; and peered inside.

What he saw amazed him. His eyes fixated on the sight, as his facial muscles loosened in awe. He stared for minutes, but they flew passed as seconds. Suddenly, he was interrupted.

"Master _Shifu! What's going on? -What's with all that noise?_"

The mentor turned to see Viper staring weary-eyed back at him.

"_Shh!_" he whispered back silently, then hurriedly motioned for her to approach, and returned to peek into the room.

Viper yawned, then slithered down the trail. She silently snuck her head through a small hole between Shifu's hip and the door frame. It took her a few seconds to register what it was she was seeing; she blinked, then squinted; and suddenly, her expression came to match that of Shifu's. She held her gaze along with him for a few more minutes.

"_..Hey guys.. What's going on?_" asked Mantis, as he, Monkey and Crane made their way toward the door as well. They received no answer, but, upon finding holes to peer into the room, found they didn't need one.

As time marched onward, a drowsy Mei Ling came to join their gaping; regardless, time continued to slip out of their astonished grasps.

At last, Mantis asked the question everyone else neglected, "_Uhm.. Fellas.. Where's Tigress?_" he whispered with confusion.

"_Look._" Viper responded, as she jutted her head in an 'arcing' fashion, referring to an area behind what the site that they'd all been focused on.

A few heads, such as Mantis, Mei Ling and Monkey veered in the direction she was alluding. They all quickly acknowledged the presence of Tigress, who'd been sitting on the opposite side of the room the entire time, also focusing on the peculiar happening before her. Mei Ling waved, as Tigress let a small grin slip, but kept her eyes focused before her.

Finally, Po finished the routine he'd been performing for the twelfth time; but kept his eyes shut. He still hadn't realized the audience that had formed and been staring around him; excluding Tigress, of whom he'd woken up and invited down to observe. Unrelatingly, it was time to recommence his impressive new technique.

He stood straight, and brought his open paws together in front of his chest. He inhaled deeply, then bent his legs and pulled his hands apart. He swirled them around himself with complete control. His eyes remained shut with complete calmness; then he swirled into the air. He spun in a sideways fashion, his legs slightly apart. He remained at his own approximate eye-height for about 4 seconds, then fell to his left leg, his right still being raised to his side. His balance and form were perfect, unlike the majority of his other techniques. As he brought his right leg down, he gripped his knee with his right hand. The instant his foot met the ground, his left hand met his left knee. Shifu, along with the rest of the spectators, leaned forward slightly. Things were about to get interesting.

Po pushed himself to standing with both hands as they separated from his knees. Using the same momentum, his swirled his body around. He leaned forward and brought his left hand across the floor, as a red flame flickered to life and trailed behind. Suddenly, he turned his palm to face the flame, and gritted his teeth. With this, the flame grew larger and thicker; he grinned, keeping his eyes closed. He brought his right hand up, and squished the previously-chasing flame into a ball. It wasn't quite as perfect as the ball of blue flame he'd shown Tigress in her Myrkr, but it was astounding nonetheless. With this, he clapped his hands together, and the flame evaporated from existence. "WHOOSH!"

His look of concentration faded, as he loosened his jaw and neck; then cracked his back. He shook out his arms and legs with a ballistic stretch, then turned to Tigress, smiled, and opened his eyes. She smiled back, but their moment was abruptly interrupted by Mantis, who came chasing over to Po from behind.

"MAN! THAT WAS SO AWESOME!" he yelled, hoping onto his shoulder.

Po smiled, as the other spectators shrugged, and poured into the room. Shifu was the last to enter, as he sauntered in and tried to avoid Po's gaze. The large panda received and stood amongst the praise for a few minutes, as the students uncontrollably showed their admiration and amazement. Tigress simply sat and watched, as Shifu did the same in an awkward stance aside from the group.

After a short while, the cheer died down, and Shifu worked up the morale to speak. "Uhmm.. Po.. I believe I owe you an apology..". The room went absolutely silent, as Po stared down at his mentor. "I said some things that.. Well.. Firstly, they weren't true..." he took a deep breath, "Secondly, they weren't necessary..." another short pause followed, with the absence of another breath, "Thirdly-"

Po rolled his eyes, and held out his arms for a hug. "Apology accepted."

Shifu couldn't resist the grin that found his face, as he stared at the panda. "You don't actually.." he tried to resist, receiving a disapproving glare from both Po and Tigress. "Fine. But just this once."

He moved in for a 'casual' squeeze, when Po grabbed him and pulled him into a tight embrace. "I knew you couldn't resist a Po hug forever!" yelled the panda happily.

"I know I sure couldn't." replied Tigress, who now stood alone behind the warrior, bearing a slight blush.

Po grinned, and pulled her into a three-way hug. Tigress and Shifu were reluctant at first, and showed an unusually large amount of resistance with small yelps. But as a few seconds passed, they both hesitantly eased into the soft bear-hug.

After a few moments, and a few 'Awws', Po, oddly enough, broke up the hug. "OHH! I had an epiphany!"

The group stared back with raised brows, as Mantis answered, "What the heck's an epiphany?"

Po grinned, "I dno, that's just what Shang called it when I explained it to him.."

The group stood, awaiting the 'epiphany', but it never came. "And that would be..?" asked Shifu in a lightly-demanding tone.

Po blinked, "Oh! Right." almost the entire crowd either rolled their eyes, smiled, or displayed a comical-combination of the two. "Well, me and Shang were talking,"

"Wait, who's Shang?" interrupted Mantis, forgetting Shifu's earlier explanation.

The red panda responded quickly, but kindly. "The saber-cat who explained the 'two worlds' and a few other theories to Po and me."

Mantis nodded in perception, as Po continued, "So we were talking, and then he said 'You guys don't quite have as much time as I did to prepare... 125 years... You're pretty much going to have to train in your sleep.. and then some'!" The group squinted, scratched heads, and even winked in confusion; as Po chuckled. "Don't you see? With my link, we _can_ train in our sleep! And I'm gonna train you guys how to use 'chi power'."

Suddenly the group understood, "Ooohhhh.." a few replied in unison.

"But Po.. The only people amongst us who have half-decent 'chi-power' are you, Monkey, Mei Ling and Viper.." replied Tigress.

The group pondered the statement, as Shifu replied, "Well.. Actually, it's not all that difficult to raise your chi... Given the correct circumstances.." the group turned to face him, "There are many ways to raise your chi.. To start, you can develop a relationship. Another thing you can do is 'use' your chi.. Tigress, since you used yours to a point of complete depletion, I'd say it's probably..." he paused, as numbers flooded his mind momentarily, "About 2.5x more than what it was.." Tigress smiled, feeling slightly better about her newfound deficiency. "And finally, meditation can speed both the 'chi-healing and chi-building' process; but it won't do anything if you haven't been training in the power of chi."

With this, Po continued on explaining his plan, "So I'll take one of you under at a time, and try to train you the best I can according to your fighting-styles. But during the day, we'll all train to raise our chi-levels, whatever way possible."

Shifu, seeing fault in Po's plan, interrupted, "But Po, we must leave in about three days.. We don't have enough time.."

Suddenly, Po's excitement faded. He brought a hand to his chin and bowed his head slightly in contemplation. His tongue sat uneasily in his mouth as his thoughts ransacked his mind; until ultimately, a well-perceived idea arose in his head. "Oh!" he snapped, "Well, obviously, the evil 'thingy' is going to be at the tournament... So why don't you just ask the emperor to postpone it?"

Shifu interpreted his request, and nodded, "I will try." having this decided, he chose to conclude the midnight meeting. "But for now, lets all get some rest. Especially you, Dragon Warrior." he glared over at the grinning panda.

Mei Ling yawned, and stretched her arms overhead, "Ahh.. Alright, night-night everyone!" she said, turning and walking toward the door. The group then followed, until all but Shifu and Po left the room.

Shifu turned his attention from the leaving group, and made his way toward the still-lit candles. But as he turned, he noticed the student that still remained in the room with him, "Po, I believe I told you to get some rest."

Po smirked, "I know, I know. I just wanted to ask you something."

Shifu focused on the panda, "Yes?"

"Why haven't you ever taught us in the ways of chi-power before..?"

The elder panda uneasily aligned his teeth, "Well.. There's a list of reasons.. The main two would be because, A. Chi-powered attacks are very dangerous, but powerful. A student must first become a Master, as all of you have, and must then be taught how to fully control the attacks.. A Myrker makes this easier, but still not 'safe'.." he paused, "B. Because, well.. We couldn't afford to allow our students to build-up their chi before the correct time presented itself.. Could you imagine a bunch of rebellious teens running around the hall..? Better-yet, a bunch of rebellious teens with the full power of Kung Fu in their grasps? There's no telling what could happen!"

Po laughed, "Oh.. I see."

Shifu turned back to the candles and waived his staff by them, putting them out in his signature-manner, and leaving the two of them in the moonlit glow of the hall. As they made their way out of the door, and toward their sleeping-quarters, Po tried his best to make small-talk; but only received short and choppy answers in return. At last, they met their separate ways, as Po walked up the steps of the 'Hall of Masters'.

"Night Master Shifu!" he called, slightly louder than his intentions.

Shifu let out a scruffy laugh under his breath, then replied. "Goodnight Po."

With this, the doors to the hall shut, and the red panda caught a feint 'breaking glass' sound.

"Ow! Dang it!" he heard shouted from within the hall.

He allowed another chuckle to escape him, "Look out for the post." he whispered, continuing on his path, soon hearing a discrete "Thump"

"Ahahahow!" Po yelled.

The red panda continued on his path, bearing a seldomly-occurring grin. Once he reached his quarters, he relaxed his body and mind with a successful performance of the 'inner-peace' technique; then eased off into a deep and blissful rest for the remainder of the night.

_Please review and favorite!_


	17. Training

**Life's Full Of Surprises.**

**_Please note, future chapters will be written based on reviews!_ THANK YOU ALL FOR READING!**

**Also Kung Fu Panda is owned by Dreamworks, please support the official movies, books, etc.! I DO NOT OWN KUNG FU PANDA!**

_Here you are! The next chapter! Things are starting to get a little juicier don't ya think? Looking forward to your reviews!_

The gentle yet piercing sound of a gong being struck filled and infected the stilled-air amongst the mountains. Almost immediately, five students lined up at the open doors of their dorms. With this, a red panda came strolling around the corner which marked the end of the hall. Normally, they all would have immediately greeted him with a 'Good morning, Master.', but with their feline guest not being accustomed to the routine; it was not necessary.

After a few more instances, another panda came sprinting into the view of the students. Panting, he apologized for his tardiness.

"Ah-Sorry Master Shifu, I couldn't get to sleep on that floor..." he paused in thought of the preceding night, then quickly spat a final sentence, "..And we might also have to fix the 'Urn of Whispering Warriors' again.."

Shifu grinned, "It's okay Po. I have a list of things we must get through today." he directed his attention toward the group, "I will meet you all in the kitchen in about half an hour. Students, get to your morning-chores."

With this, the group dispersed to begin their regular morning routines. Save for Mei Ling, who was left to stand in confusion once again.

"Mei Ling, you may help Po in the kitchen if you'd like." suggested the red panda before walking out of her view.

"Alright!" she called, skipping in the direction of the kitchen. Upon arriving, she witnessed Po's skills in cooking for the first time. "Good morning Po."

"Oh, hey Mei Ling." he answered, only momentarily peering over his shoulder.

"Watcha makin?"

"Well, just my world-renowned bacon and eggs of awesomeness." he gloated.

Mei Ling giggled, "Sounds delicious!". Wanting to get a better view, she walked to the side.

The moment the stove top came into her view, the panda grabbed two eggs, and cracked them into the pan with a single paw. He then threw the shells over his shoulder, and into an awaiting garbage can. Next, he grasped a spatula, and shimmied it under an egg on another pan. After separating the egg from the greases sticky possession, he shuffled the pan forward and back; and finished by instantaneously jutting it upward for a split-second, causing the egg to fly upward in a flipping fashion. As the semi-cooked piece of aliment reached its point of greatest height, it stuck in the air for a few short moments, then fell. In accordance with its falling speed, Po let the pan fall slightly to catch it; finally placing it back atop the stove.

The mountain cat stood in wonderment. "So..Uhh.. you been doing this for a while?"

Po laughed, "Well my father owned a restaurant; so I didn't have much of a choice."

"Oh, he did? Well that explains it." she leaned onto a nearby chair with her left paw, as her right one found its way to her hip. "So.. What was with all of that 'fire' stuff last night?" she questioned with intrigue.

Po blushed, "Oh that.. That was nothing. You should see Shang."

The cat smiled, "I'm pretty sure that was something... I could never do it."

The panda allowed a short pause; he had already resumed and been absorbed by his cooking. As he flipped and shook the bacon around; it hissed and sizzled in response. Subsequently, her statement finally sunk into his mind, and he responded. "That's not true.. You can, and it looks like you will by the end of the week at this rate."

An enticed look overtook her, "How do you mean?"

He finished flipping and turning his many pans' contents, then turned to face her with crossed arms; leaning into the corner beside the stove. "It's just... you have the highest chi of everyone." he grimaced, not wanting to boast, "I mean.. Excluding me." waving off the comment, he continued. "Anyways, I'll probably be taking you under first."

The cat smiled and blushed, remembering a certain feline who may not be completely 'okay' with the idea. "Gee.. Uhm, have you spoken to Tigress about this yet?"

Po laughed, "I know.. She's not your biggest fan, is she?"

"Well.. lately she hasn't been so bad. But no, no she's not." she replied, staring into her toes. "Wait- How did you know she didn't like me? Did she consider it important enough to tell you already?" she eyed the panda skeptically.

He bit his lip, it was no secret to him that he'd obtained the knowledge by 'super-spying' on them; but he wasn't about to tell her such things. "Oh, me? I uhm-" he let a sigh of relief escape him as Monkey pranced into the room.

"Hey guys! What's up?" asked the primate, noticing the awkward silence that floated amidst the air.

"Nothing." they both replied happily in unison as they instantly forgot the conversation that had been taking place.

The monkey eased into a chair at the end of the table, "When's breakfast gonna be ready?"

Po turned to see the eggs and bacon bubbling and sweating amongst the heat; he'd caught them just at the nick of time. "Ahh!" he called playfully, dishing them from the pans and into the plates he'd stacked across his arm. After the skillful technique was portrayed, he rushed to the table and slid his arm along the side; as the plates quickly slid from his arm and into their correct places.

Monkey laughed, "Good thing I was here!" he called proudly, before digging into his meal.

Mei Ling giggled along with him, but took a far more polite approach at eating the grub before her. "Thanks Po!" she called enthusiastically before nibbling into her food in a sense that, peculiarly enough, resembled very much to the technique Tigress utilized.

"Yea, Fr-thanks-ph mahn!" called Monkey with a mouthful of food.

Po seated himself at the table with a nod, carrying three more plates with him, and placing them in their correct locations. Soon, the rest of the group joined them, as small talk slowly evolved into full-blown conversations. Around 2 minutes after they'd all finished feasting, Shifu walked through the already-open doors. He quietly crept into the center of the room, and started to speak.

"Alright.. I've contacted the emperor, and after a bit of negotiating, he has agreed to reschedule the tournament to nine days from today." A few relieving breaths were heard, along with a light amount of cheer. "But that is not all." interrupted the small panda, "I've organized each of your training schedules individually, according to what you all need most. Monkey, Viper and Mei Ling, you are all to train as usual."

The group nodded and replied, "Yes Master." heading to the training hall.

"Crane and Mantis, I would request that you two do the same, but meditate for twenty minutes at least every half-hour."

"Agh," the bug let out in protest, "Do I have to? I _hate_ meditating." Shifu eyed the bug for mere milliseconds before he corrected himself. "I-I mean, sure. Love to!" he called, hoping out of the door after an eye-rolling Crane.

Shifu turned to face both Tigress and Po, who sat abnormally close at the corner of the table. "As for you two..." he paused, eyeing the duo; "enjoy your day in the valley." he mentioned quickly, then turned to walk out of the door, being interrupted at the last second by a dumbfounded Po.

"Wait.. What?" the panda squinted skeptically.

"I said, enjoy your day in the valley." he turned to see two pairs of confused eyes glaring back. "Tigress's chi is abnormally low.." a quiet defensive growl inevitably escaped the tiger, "So I want you both to spend time with one another. Enjoy your day." the red panda rapidly stepped out of the door, to avoid any further questioning.

The couple sat in silence for a few moments, until they gained a grasp over what had just transpired. "Wow.. What do you want to do?" asked Po, who's excitement was hidden only by a thin layer of abashment.

"I.. I don't know." the tiger replied with a light blush.

Po scratched his head, slowly becoming more and more aware of how fortunate they were. "Do you want to go down to my dad's shop?" he asked, trying to catch a look into her eyes.

At last, she broke a bit of tension with her first movement since her fathers' sneaky exit. Her gaze aligned with his as she replied. "Y-yea.. Sure."

Po wasted little time in holding her to this, as he grabbed her paw and dashed out of the door. "Then come on! Let's go!". He could no longer hide it. Not only was he ecstatic to finally get the chance to spend time with the woman he loved, but he also got to see his father for the first time in days!

Tigress, still being caught in a slight daze, barely managed to tame him before reaching the thousand steps. "Po!" she called as loudly as she could, trying to exceed the volume of his happiness. To her relief, he stopped instantly at the sound of her voice.

"What?" he turned, realizing the wrenched grip he had around her paw, and loosening slightly in embarrassment.

"No, it's not that.." she blushed, "It's just.. We have all day." her eyes met his with a distinctive glow, "_Let's make the most of it._"

**In the training room**

Crane had finally convinced Mantis to meditate, so they sat aside from the others in their peculiar versions of the lotus pose. Crane stood on one leg, as Mantis simply stood normally. The bug occasionally opened an eye to glance at the others, shaking under the extreme temptation to join them. Crane plainly displayed an absolute stillness, fully aware of his surroundings.

"Mantis! Close your eyes.. Relax. Try to clear your mind. You _do_ want to be capable of what Po did last night, don't you?"

The final sentence broke through the bugs' thick ignorance, as he settled into his stance. "Yeah.. Alright."

The girls trained as usual, just as Shifu had requested. But it seemed an unavoidable intensity had set in.

"So.." yelled Mei Ling, striking a training dummy. "Where.. Do you.. Think.. Po and Tigress... Are?" she asked to no one in particular.

Viper slithered along the 'Field of Fiery Death', occasionally hoping and dodging in anticipation of the upcoming flame. "I'm not sure.. But I'm almost certain.. Shifu has them doing.. something absolutely ridiculous... He's always been hard on Po.. And Tigress has always.." a flame jutted out just millimeters to her side, "..demanded he be harder on her."

"Yeah.." replied Mei Ling, now delivering repeated kicks to the dummy's side, "You all.. amaze me... But she, she also.. 'confuses' me."

"What do you mean?" asked Monkey at a high volume, falling from the supports of the hall to her side.

She didn't flinch in the least, whereas she'd already seen him swinging from the rafters just moments earlier. "I.. I'm not really.." she punched the dummy with a large amount of force, "..Sure.. It's just that she's..." she stopped attacking momentarily to turn to the primate beside her. "She's so intense. All the time.. And Po's just.. Po." she paused on the thought. "I'm not saying they aren't a great pair, but they just seem like such opposites.. You know?". No one seemed to notice the jealous bird who sat to the side of the group, huffing slightly in a light annoyance.

Monkey scratched the back of his head, "..yeah... But sometimes that's what makes such a good couple. Yin and yang sort of thing.." he shrugged, backing up slightly.

"Yeah, I guess.."

Suddenly, Viper snaked her way into the group. "Personally, I saw it coming ever since Gongmen City.."

Monkey turned his gaze to the serpent, "What?"

She laughed with a tilt of her head, "C'mon! They were all over each other! Being all protective and stuff.."

Monkey scarcely squinted in thought, "Yeah.. Actually, now that you mention it.." there was an exaggerated pause, whereas he didn't know what else he could say.

Luckily for him, a particular mountain cat, clearly feeling left out, decided to change the subject. "So anyways.. What kind of 'chi-moves' are you guys gonna try to learn?"

The two turned their attention to her and responded in harmony, "What?". Presumably due to the poor wording of the question.

She shrugged, "You know.. If you had a choice of anything you could do... anything at all.. What would it be?". The question hit Viper with more force than Monkey, who'd already been toying with a similar thought.

"Well I'd give myself the power to make almond cookies out of thin air! Then I wouldn't have to go on trips every time I want to make them." said the primate, proud of his 'at-best' mediocre plans.

Mei Ling laughed, "That's not exactly what I meant.. But alright!" she nodded at the blushing monkey, then turned to the snake. "..And Viper.. What about you?"

Viper shook her head from the grip of her thoughts, "Me..? Uhmm.. I'd probably... I think I'd probably want to have fangs.."

The cat stared, "You.. You don't have fangs?"

Viper shook her head, "No.. Just born without them." she stated, lifting her lip to give the cat a look.

Monkey gave her a pat on the back, as Mei Ling shot her a supportive stare, "That's so sad.."

"Well.. Yeah.. Sort of. I don't really mind." she paused momentarily, "It's just.. My parents have always been a little disappointed." with another shake of her head, the negative thoughts were inverted. "But! If it weren't for my lack of fangs, I never would have learned Kung Fu!"

Mei Ling maintained her supportive gaze, but allowed a smile to find her look.

Seeing this, Viper returned the cats' earlier question. "So what about you- What would you want?"

"Me..?" she pondered the question, "Hmmmm... I'd have to say... I think I'd want to gain healing powers."

The monkey and snake nodded simultaneously; but only the latter replied, "Makes sense.. I mean, you are a medical practitioner.."

The cat nodded, "Yeah.. I've always loved helping people... I've sort of made it my purpose in life..". She looked down at the snake to notice Monkey's apparent disappearance, "Hey.. Where's-" she was interrupted by a 'Ou-ouh!', as she looked up into the rafters and smiled. "Guess it's time we get back to training." she said with a grin.

Viper rolled her eyes, and made her way back to the 'Field of Fiery Death', resuming her dance upon the burning platform.

**The thousand steps**

Po and Tigress had now begun their slow, peaceful and quiet descent down the dreadedly-long steps of the Jade Palace. After a few short minutes of fumbling with thoughts as to what he should say, Po finally spoke.

"So Tigress.. What's up?" he gritted his teeth, '_stupid, stupid!_' he thought.

The feline smiled, "Nothing.. Just walking." she gave him a wink that plucked at the very strings of his heart. "How's your training in 'Chi-Power' been going?" her eyes noticeably widened with the words 'Chi-Power', knowing the term was most-certainly improper.

"Good.. I trained for about 40 hours straight yesterday."

The tiger continued her steady pace for about three more steps before stopping, having Po accidentally walk into her backside. "Wait... 40 hours?" she turned to eye him.

He shrugged, "Maybe more.."

"That's not what I mean.. How did you train for 40 hours in a single day?"

The panda ran his paw over his head, "Ahh... I know... This Myrker stuff just keeps getting more and more confusing... You see, you can actually slow time by up to 10 times in your Myrker.. Basically, you use more chi at once so that you can think harder and faster.."

She nodded, then continued on her path. "Ohh.. Ok. So that's how you mastered that _technique_ yesterday."

Po nodded, oblivious to the fact that he was walking behind her. "Yeah.. Well, _almost_ mastered. It's called _bryne_, but I just call it 'Chi-Flame'.

She turned, eyed him momentarily with a feint smile, then turned back. Next, she lowered her right paw and curled her middle and index finger in unity. The panda smiled, then took in a deep and calming breath; rushing to catch up to her.

"So what do you want to do today?" she asked, staring into the rising sun.

He occasionally looked over for slight peeks at her sharp beauty, but tried to keep focused on the path before him. "I dno.. What do you want to do?"

There was a slight pause as she thought, "Ahh.. First, we must ask your father for his blessings."

Po's mind stopped dead as his feet trailed onward; he'd forgotten of such matters. He'd never _had_ to confront his father on the subject of women before, and had no idea how he'd react. "Oh yeah.. Well.. You better ask him, since you're the one who's obsessed with my bodacity."

The tiger glared over, feeling as though if he were anyone else, he'd be falling the rest of the way down the staircase for such a comment. He tried to peek over at her for another glance, as he had been doing almost the entire trip; but met a stare that wrenched his gaze in its place. "I had to ask my father for you." her tone was powerful and _unusually _angry, "Now it's your turn." her gaze softened as she turned back toward the sunrise.

The panda held both hands up in defense as they continued their journey. "Okay, okay.. Fine.". His thoughts were now entangled with fear, doubt, excitement, worry and a list of other emotions; which multiplied by the thousands with each given instance and step.

_HEY! Please REVIEW! It makes me happy! :D_


	18. Love at First Fight

**Life's Full Of Surprises.**

**_Please note, future chapters will be written based on reviews!_ THANK YOU ALL FOR READING!**

**Also Kung Fu Panda is owned by Dreamworks, please support the official movies, books, etc.! I DO NOT OWN KUNG FU PANDA!**

_Alrighty, first of all; yes, I know I said I'd get this chapter out sooner but... Yeah, I have no excuse.. Except maybe that I've just been really tired lately; my mind anyway. Just sick of working I guess.. Anywho, I am slowly starting to get back to my normal self, and actually managed to get this chapter out 'pretty' soon [10 days.. :S]. In spite of all that jazz, I really hope you all thoroughly enjoy this chapter! As usual, please review, favorite, etc.! :D_

The journey down the thousand steps wasn't near as exhausting for the panda as usual; he chalked it to the presence of Tigress, which beamed a newly warmed confidence and spirit throughout his being. Each step felt lighter, less demanding and more soothing; it was an unknown sensation that he couldn't help but crave more and more of. As he lost himself in the pattern of his melodic feet-movements, his mind slowly lost grasp over all that had been nagging and pounding past it. Alas, this was only a temporary relief, waiting to be obstructed by an outside influence.

"Hey.. Po?" interrupted his already-beloved feline companion.

He blinked in confusion, tracing the beautiful, yet obtrusive sound back to her. "Yea?" he asked, sounding as though his thoughts were still vaguely fidgeting in a distant land.

"After we go to you fathers restaurant, I was wondering if.." she bit her lip, debating over finishing her personal request.

He flashed her a smile, "Don't worry Tigress, whatever it is, the answer will be 'yes'."

The worried look that had now blessed her face was overcome by a small grin, "..Could you maybe just take me somewhere romantic..?" she blushed a deep scarlet, and gave her fur a pinkish tint.

Po nonchalantly bobbed his head in amusement, "Of course."

**In the Hall of Masters**

Shifu had just finished cleaning up Po's makeshift bed, and replaced it with two side-by-side single mattresses, much like the ones in each of the students' rooms.

After effortlessly pushing the two mattresses together, he let out a sigh of relief. '_That should do._' he thought, making his way around the beds, and toward the moon pool. He briefly gazed into his reflection in its amazingly-blue waters, then grinned, placing his staff into the center. The moment of contact between the wooden handle and water was highlighted by a small ripple, which slowly made its way to the edges. As he let go, the staff balanced vertically. He then flipped into the air and landed inside of the half-moon shaped tip with his right foot. He slowly stretched his hands up, and allowed his palms to seal together. Bringing his hands to heart-center, he exhaled a long-helt breath and eased into a meditative state.

**In the Training Hall**

All five trainees were now drenched in a hard-earned sweat. As Mei Ling moved aside to get a quick drink from a canteen, the others joined her.

She took several swigs from the canteen before registering the rapidly approaching group. "Hah.." she huffed, "What's-hahh.. What's up?"

They paid little attention to her question as they too opened their canteens for a few large gulps.

Monkey was the first to reply, "EXHAUSTED." he stated, falling back into a seated position.

"You said it bud!" said the bug who simply settled onto his stomach.

Viper looked at Mei Ling with sarcastic eyes, which held a message all-to-clear to the cat, '_boys.._'. As an outcome, she giggled, and gave her a similar agreeing glance.

Following the display, Crane finally spoke, "I don't think I've ever worked so hard in my life." a statement earning an over-exaggerated laugh from Mei Ling.

This was the first Mantis had noticed of their teasing attitude toward one another; he laughed inwardly, '_I'm gonna have some fun with this.._'. Suddenly, his mind worked and toyed with several 'gameplans'. Until finally, '_That's it!_' he thought, '_But I'll need a sidekick.._' he glanced over at the seated monkey, who scratched his head obliviously; '_Perfect._'

**Bottom of the Thousand Steps**

As Po's foot touched the brick road, he let out an inaudible groan; although he wasn't panting, his feet were still quite tired. The couple walked closely down the streets, headed for 'Dragon Warrior Noodles'. At last, they reached the open doors of the restaurant. Po stopped at the corner, as Tigress turned to face him.

"What's wrong?" she asked sincerely.

"Nothin'.. I'm just.. Scsarde" he mumbled under a deep breath.

"What?"

"I'm just ska-ired.." he repeated, in a slightly more susceptible manner.

The tiger grinned, "You? The 'Dragon Warrior'. My...boyfriend." the final word left her trembling almost as much as it did him. It was almost enough to push him through the door, but not quite. Suddenly, an orange, black and white paw came into his view. As he traced it back up to her, he caught a slight nod in the direction of the door. "We're together now.. Let's do this together."

He smiled, then gripped her tough, yet warm and somehow fuzzy paw. "Okay, Ti."

They stepped through the door and into the ever-present crowd. As the crowd dissipated to the sides in honor of the Kung Fu legends, Mr. Ping came rushing down the center.

"Po! Why have you not been visiting?" he called, moving in for a hug. As he wrapped his arms around the panda, and noticed only one arm embracing him in return, he searched for the other. "What's this?" he asked, glancing at their intertwined paws with a grin.

"Oh, uhm.. Can we go out back?" the embarrassed panda asked, gazing at the staring faces which surrounded them.

"Of course, of course! Come!" he said, hurriedly waddling back through the doors of which he came. The panda and tiger followed and slouched to enter the room. "Has the time finally come?" asked the goose with hopefully glazed eyes.

"Maybe.." stated Tigress, in a reassuring tone. "We've come to.." she bit her lip in hesitation, as Po picked up.

"Ask for your blessin-"

"Of course Po!" yelled the goose, who couldn't hold in his excitement any longer. "Oh how I've waited for this day, the day my son finally chooses a mate!" at the sight of their shocked looks, he covered his beak.

"Oh, Mr. Ping.. We aren't quite there yet." mentioned the blushing tiger, with Po's embarrassed grin to reassert her statement.

The goose didn't miss a beat in avoidance of further tension, "Please, please, call me dad!"

Tigress grinned, and looked over at a shrugging Po. "Well.. I don't even call my actual father that.." she turned her gaze back to the goose, whose expression had now begun to fall through to depression. As a result, she quickly corrected her statement. "S-so I guess that shouldn't be a problem... dad." the final word escaped her lips sounding almost completely foreign to the tiger, but the gooses smile had returned nonetheless.

He clapped his wings happily, "I'm so proud of you son!" Po reddened, "You've gotten the woman you've loved since you were only seven years old!"

With this statement, a new tension set in. Tigress's happy gaze turned back to one of shock; as Po's turned to one resembling an unknown timidness. It took a few moments for the comment to sink into Tigress's thick skull; it echoed relentlessly amidst the otherwise silent air, '_loved since you were seven years old.. seven years old.. seven years old.._'. With a jump, her eyes met his, "Take me to that romantic place.. _now_." she demanded in an oddly seductive tone.

The panda blushed and rubbed the back of his neck, "Alright, Alright." he turned to his father, "Bye dad." he said with a hug.

"Okay, goodbye son. Just remember to visit soon!" he was about to resume his cooking, but a certain excluded tiger caught his eye. He turned back to face her, "Oh! I almost forgot." he spread his wings and waddled toward the feline, "You're my _daughter_ now! Goodbye.." he wrapped his wings around the knelt tiger, who, surprisingly, returned the same gesture. "Be sure to visit!" he tried to pull away, but she held him in the embrace.

'_So this is how it feels.. To have a father.._' was the final thought to trace through her mind before his voice.

He cleared his throat, "Tigress..?"

Suddenly, she opened her eyes with a sheepish look overcoming her, "Oh, sorry Mr- father." as she pulled away, his wings trailed over her trembling arms. Next, a soft black and white paw grasped hers, and pulled her through the back door.

"What was that all about?" asked the panda.

She looked away, "I don't know what you're referring to."

As they walked down the adequately crowded streets in silence, they took in all of the confused gazes and comments that were shot their way. "Is that?", "It is!", "The 'Dragon Warrior' and Master Tigress!", "But why are they holding paws..?"

Tigress simply pretended not to hear them, but Po couldn't resist the urge to smile. He'd never been praised as Master Tigress's boyfriend before.. Or anyone's boyfriend for that matter; It was a new and uplifting feeling.

After a few more minutes of flattery, the couple came to a side alley. "Here, this way." mentioned the panda before pulling her into the narrow alleyway. Stepping through the other side, the couple was immediately met with an array of trees.

"Wait.. Po... Where are we-"

"You'll see." he teased, finding a particular tree, nodding, then rushing passed and into the forest. They jumped around rocks, roots, trees and plants.

"Po! Where are we-" she called once again, speedily hoping over the obstacles and effortlessly keeping pace with the panda.

"You'll see!" he replied as before. Moments later, they came to a stop in front of a large tree branch. "Here we are." stated the bear, turning to see an enraged Tigress.

It took her a few moments to grasp her thoughts, "Th-this is your idea of a romantic place! The middle of a forest?" she yelled, earning a finger pressed to her lips.

"Ssshhhhh. Listen." he answered, hoping she wouldn't 'flat-out' punch him in the face for such an action.

Seconds later, the tiger's ears commenced to twitch. As she started to listen, she noticed the sound of rushing water, birds chirping, and an oh-so-familiar whistle of the wind blowing through the dewy grass. After this, Po pried his arm under the large branch that blocked their path; bowing politely in a demeanor saying '_Ladies first._'. She winced at him for only a second, before the shinning sun became relevant in the path he had presented to her.

She stepped through into its brilliance, and gasped at the beauty; being sucked into a deja-vu induced trance. As she sauntered amongst the small landscape, everything was just as she remembered. There were two planes of grass bearing occasional flowers on either side of the land. In the center was a horizontal lake. An old rickety bridge located to the left side was the only way across the seven foot stream; besides jumping, that is. And it seemed only the finest grass, water and insects were allowed admittance; it was almost a miniature 'Valhalla'. Soon, she was forced into a sit, her hands propping herself behind her back; having Po interrupt her gawking as he drew nearer.

"So.. what do you think?" he asked, seating himself to her right side.

"It's-It's amazing... But I think.." she was still slightly adazed, and consequently couldn't find the words to finish.

This left Po in a worried confusion, "You think what?"

"I think.. I think I've been here before."

Po smiled, "When?"

She continued searching her thoughts for the answer, "I.. I don't know."

Po turned, and noticed a misfit detail of the landscape that had always bothered him. "Uhmm.. It wouldn't have to do with that, would it?"

She turned to glance where he was pointing, noticing a large rock bearing a hoard of scratches. Her jaw dropped as she stood and slowly strolled to approach it. Once close enough, she drug her callused fingers over the deep claw marks. "That's it.."

"That's what?" asked Po, who'd approached far closer than she'd noticed.

"That's why I was here.." she was shocked to see the marks were still so visible after withstanding the traitorous weather and storms that had come to the valley over the years.

Po rolled his eyes, "What's why?"

She turned to face him, keeping her hand pressed against the stone. "I.. I was only a cub.." her eyes welled up with tears, as a result, Po started to draw even nearer. "It was back when I was still in the orphanage." she turned back to the stone as her words poured and fell from her mouth, painting a picture in his mind.

She was a cub, not yet six years old. She'd always been discriminated against due to her uncontrollable temper.

As per routine, every weekend, the children of the orphanage would play outside for lunch amidst the neighborhood kids. But one particular Sunday, while the young tiger had been sitting aside from the other playing children as usual, a young boy approached to join her.

"Go away." she demanded, receiving a smiling stare from the youngster; he stopped for a second to watch her, then came even closer. "I said, go away." she growled, looking him dead in the eyes for the first time; noticing the greenish orbs that gawked so innocently back at her.

"No." he replied with an unforeseen confidence, "You looked lonely, so I wanted to play with you."

She held her piercing gaze, "No one wants to play with me. I'm Tigress; And I have 'a violent temper and frightening strength'." she mentioned, quoting the owner of the orphanage. Afterwards, she stared in the opposite direction of the boy, as he started to speak.

"Woooowww. That's awesome." replied the pure-hearted young man, sitting uncomfortably close to the tiger; and causing her to jump in shock.

She turned in retaliation and, by instinct, swung her unsheathed claws at the poor boys' head. Luckily for him, he'd already covered his face with his paws; palms out. Unfortunately, she still managed to make contact with his right metacarpal pad in a jagged shape down the center. The boy fell to his knees, bleeding into his fur in a wave of tears.

In a matter of milliseconds, many onlookers had approached to care for the boy; making inconsiderate comments about the misunderstood cat. "_What a monster!_" one called, "_She's a spawn directly from hell!_" admitted another. Soon, the comments built into a flurry in the pitiable felines head, and she let out a loud growl before dashing out of the orphanage play-area. She ran with such speed that she hardly caught the sound of the young boys voice, "No, stop! It's not what you guys think!" she glanced back for only a second to see him struggling in the grasp of an adult, who continually attempted to bandage his injury.

In a blind sprint down the streets, she soon came face-to-face with a large forest. She stopped for a mere instance before continuing her scurry. She dodged rocks and roots, and swung from trees and branches. Within seconds, she ran through a large bush, and into a miniature clearing. She stumbled around the beauteous area until she finally found herself seated against a large rock. She searched her clouded mind, listening to the voices she'd heard only minutes before.

'_She's rotten right to the core... Pfft, typical tiger... It's those blasted claws of hers! They're sharp as swords!_' the final thought brought her back into the moment. She stared into her still-unsheathed claws, and felt them against her thumbs. They were sharp.

She stood and turned toward the rock, dragging her right index across the surface. "I... I don't want to be a monster anymore.." she whispered, pressing hardly against the rough slab. She started slow, then gained pace. She started dragging harder, more vigorously. For about twenty five minutes she dulled her needle-sharp claws, until finally; she was left with nothing but stubs. Four of them had even begun to bleed, but she didn't care. She resheathed them; they sunk deeper into her paws by about half an inch. She sat back down with nothing but pride, and an unreasonable disappointment. After approximately another hour, she returned to the orphanage, to see no one had gone looking for her.

As the tiger finished her story, she stared down at her paws; awaiting a response from the panda. "Well..?" she asked after a few unbearably long seconds, receiving no answer. She turned to face him, seeing that he too was staring into his paws. "Panda..?"

He snapped from his daze, "Wh-what?"

"Were you not listening that entire time!" she asked in a building growl, seeing the panda grin and look up to her from his gaze.

"Yes Tigress, I was listening." she was confused by his confident tone, "Can I see your claws?"

Tigress stared at his toes, then nodded slowly. "Alright." she said, unsheathing the stubs from her fingertips.

Po gasped, they were worse than he'd imagined; there was nothing left of them. Some were dulled unevenly, while others were just jaggedly broken. He held her paw in his own, studying it closer.

'_Don't hit him.. Don't hit him.._' thought the usually-defensive cat.

After a few more moments, he spoke. "How... How could you do this to yourself..?"

She pulled her paw away, resheathing her claws. "At the time, I did it _for_ myself."

Po grimaced, contemplating over saying what had just come to mind. "..Just like your training?" he asked through deep, knowing eyes.

Her jaw dropped slightly, remembering her and Vipers earlier conversation. "How did yo-"

"Hey- Just because I trained in 'Chi Harnessing' for 40 hours, doesn't mean I didn't take the time to get a little 'spy' training in too." he smiled at his own unpredictability, receiving a bruising punch to the arm, "Ow!" he called grasping the throbbing muscle.

It seemed this statement was just a little too much for the pain-ridden tiger. "You were spying on me and Viper?" she exclaimed in a hardly controlled rage.

Po raised his hands, "Hey, hey... Yeah." he admitted, almost receiving another hit, but quickly reacting with another statement. "Wait! I also have some good news.."

She stopped, and glared at him with a raised brow. "And what is that?"

His eyes shot around the landscape, then back to her. "Well.. Mei Ling has never had a boyfriend before."

She held her unamused glare, "And why is that good ne-"

"She's in _love_ with Crane."

The tiger stared, "In love?" the bear nodded, "Oh.. I guess that _is_ good news..." she paused, contemplating the newfound knowledge. "I still don't trust her though."

The panda rolled his eyes as he did before, "Anyways, let's get back to your problem."

"What problem?" she snapped.

"Your claws..?" he reminded in a questioning tone.

She gazed down at her paws, "Oh yeah.." she ran them over her head, and across her ears. "I'm actually quite surprised you haven't yet noticed that I never use them."

The panda shrugged, "I figured you just chose not to.. Being all hardcore and all. Plus, to master the tiger style without claws, that's even awesomer than mastering it with them." he grinned widely, as she shot back a blush.

"Well it happened a long time ago.. I've adjusted." she stated sheepishly.

Po then resumed his earlier search of his mind. He rapidly found that it wasn't very easy to find a way of informing her of what he'd always known, so he improvised. "You wouldn't happen to-uhmm.. remember what species that young boy was, would you?" he quickly mumbled.

She thought back, "Uhmm.. No.. No I don't.." she stared skeptically at the panda, "Why?".

The bear then slowly and shakily revealed his scarred right paw. Her gaze went blank.

After a few quiet instances, she replied. "I.. I had no.. I'm so sorry." she grasped his paw as he did hers earlier.

He grimaced, "_I'm _actually quite surprised _you've_ never noticed." he mentioned with a hint of tease.

She looked him in the eye from her shocked stare, "Well," she started in a defensive tone, "It is quite faded.. And you always lead with your left paw, so.."

He could almost feel the protective attitude amplifying with each syllable, "Okay, okay. But you still scarred-err.. marked me for life." he grinned irrationally, receiving a confused look from the tiger.

"How do you mean..?" she blinked.

"Well.. when you cut someone like you cut me, it stays there foreve-"

The tiger smirked at the panda's ignorance, "No.. You said marked.. Instead of scarred; why?"

"Well.." he starred into his paw between the tigers' still-grasping fingers, "That was the day I fell in love with you.. The same day I first saw you; the same day we first fought; and the same day you marked me with this everlasting symbol." he stated, taping the vague greyish mark that, in his opinion, _blessed_ his paw.

She stared into the crooked scar; it was hideously shaped. It started from the base of his index, and traversed its way across to the opposite corner. She'd struck him hardly and swiftly, but it could not be denied that there was still some 'resistance' on his end; a statement being drastically echoed by the lightening-style tear of the now-faded blemish. There were hardly any remnants of the once-tremendous indentation she'd left him with, but given the fact that almost 20 years had passed, it was obvious that the depth of the scar must have been, at one time, tremendous.

The shocked tiger withdrew herself from her observations, and gazed back up at him. "You.. You really have loved me your entire life.. Haven't you?" he nodded with a combination of a smile and a blush, unable to foresee the buildup of tears that now found themselves gathering in her glimmering eyes.

"Wh-what's wrong?" he asked with sudden worry.

The tiger finally let go of his now-trembling paw, and whipped her forearm across her face. "You.." she paused for an uncomfortably long period.

The panda could sense her struggle, and hesitantly brought his scarred paw to her back, rubbing fluently and softly; despite his shuddering. He allowed her pause as he gathered his thoughts, suddenly he realized; there was something she wasn't telling him. "Tigress.. What's going on?"

She continued her internal skirmish to keep her buried emotions at bay, falling to one knee. "I-I can't tell you."

Po sighed, "I was afraid of that.." a still silence now found them, "I mean.. really.." he squinted as though he too were trying to skim through a cluster of emotion, "If you can't trust me.. The one who you just found out has loved you since he was only six years old.. who can you trust?" he brought his left paw up to rub his tired eyes, "No offence, but I think this may be why you chi is so unhealthily low.. I mean- Look at you." he grimaced at his own intrusive tone, "You can hardly stand under the weight of your own unbalanced chi."

The tiger sighed a heated breath, trying to focus through her tears without allowing any of them to fall; there was no doubt that he was right. She'd always chosen to bury her emotions; she'd never had any other choice. She had no friends, no family; even the owners of the orphanage were too scared to try to speak to her. It wasn't entirely her fault, in fact, most of it _wasn't_ her fault. She'd always been forced into everything she did and suffered through; a fact directly linked to her current skills in Kung Fu and her well-known incapacitated levels of chi.

Seeing that she wasn't going to move from her pathetic position, the panda worriedly allowed his body to take action. He lifted the sorrowed feline to her feet, turning her to face him. "Tigress.. What's wrong?" he asked, bringing a finger to her face; absorbing a not-yet-fallen tear.

She chuckled nervously with a sheepish grin; an expression completely new to her, catching them both by surprise. "I just.. I.." her gaze inadvertently fell as she locked her lips, along with her ingrown emotions.

Po grinned, bringing a finger to her chin, and pulling her sights back to his. "Tigress.."

"I just don't think I could return that kind of love-" she blurted with both eyes clenched shut; a single tear escaping her grasp.

The panda, to her surprise, laughed. He then pulled her close; a feeling that would never fall short of amazing for the both of them. She allowed his heat to warm her iced emotions; as he pulled the very essence of the tiger into his heart. They remained in their perfect embrace for minutes, as they both hushed their troubled minds; freeing every worry that tugged at their pained insides.

"Don't you see, Tigress? You already have." he alas replied in a sedative voice, gracing her with confusion.

"..What?" she asked, pulling her head from his warm neck, and blinking her eyes, establishing contact with his.

He untensed, arching his back to see her more clearly. "Tigress, you've given me the chance, better-yet, the _gift_ to be the very first love of your life; and I couldn't be happier." he smiled his signature 'goofy' smile, receiving another approving giggle in return. "And by the way.. you have the most beautiful laugh I've ever heard."

She continued to stare into his jade-green eyes, bearing a smile and a blush that shone through her like sunlight through faultless glass.

Staring into his glazed irises, she wanted only to kiss him; but couldn't. Her heart was too inexperienced in love to put in the line of fire; so she couldn't and wouldn't risk it, not yet. This comprehension pounded her mind incessantly, as a lost child pounds upon a neighboring door. It pounded regardless of the fact that the panda in front of her held her more dearly than anything else he'd ever known... it pounded regardless of her _own_ less profound, but ever-building and eternally-returning feelings for said panda... it pounded regardless of the want and need to be loved that she'd buried so deeply within for so many years... It.. Pounded... Regardless.

"I love you." she whispered, pulling him into a close and joyous caression.

The panda let a smile grace his features, "I love you too, Tigress." the whisper tingled his lips with an unfounded happiness, as he shut his eyes and gently nuzzled his cheek into her left ear; loving every second of the purr that sensually emitted from the now-soothed tiger.

_Just hit that review button! I dare ya! (And then leave a review! [As I've said so many times in the past; your reviews make me very happy and determined to write more!])_


	19. Another note

_Alright, I know.. I said I'd be getting updates out quicker. But it seems I just don't have it in me lately.. (A little tired/weary-minded, I guess.) Resultingly, I will (for real this time) be taking a [hopefully] short break. As always, thank you all for reading and reviewing!_

_P.S. To be honest, last time I posted a note like this, I found a new inspiration awoke within me.. Who knows, that may just happen again.. :) (Not to get your hopes up.)_


End file.
